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"I made a friend!!" Tsu tells the others, quite happily, as Stitchy gives her a hug.
"Umm, I think maybe it would be okay if you want to look around some, Rikki. You too, Knab. Isra, if you wouldn't mind making sure Hornietelle's safe for me? She's...special to me," Tsu says, blushing as she's being hugged by an undead construct.
The creature stops hugging Tsu when Isra talks and it just stares at him before picking up it's doll once more. It stays next to Tsu as the group begins moving around the ship.
Rikki looks around the room more carefully and finds a crate that looks like the creature had broken out of. Additionally, among the wreckage he also finds a shipping manifest detailing the creature's Nexian origin.
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Tsu reaches out and takes the creature's hand (allowing it to maintain its hold on the doll with the other) and gives him a reassuring smile saying, "It's ok, Stitchy. We're friends. Just stay by me, ok?"
Tsu waits with Stitchy to see where the group wants to go next, and to make Stitchy feel more comfortable, she carries her rag doll in the hand that she's not using to hold his.
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"Some kind of shipping manifest. Impressed it survived being sunk, really. This creature is from Nex by the looks of it. I knew it, some sort of magical abomination." Rikki says, continuing to sideeye the ragdoll man. He scratches Thork on the back of the head again.
"I guess we should check out th' cabins on this thing or somethin' then."
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Hornietelle is reviled by the creatures behaviour and the way Tsu let if hug herb so. Nex, what's so special about this creature coming from their? She looks up at Isra, "So does it say who the recipient for this....cargo is? And what is it used for?" Her companions seem 'happy' to continue their conversation with the thing, so Hornietelle gives her excuses and joins the search of the wreck, moving away from 'it'. "Call me if things turn sour." she intones to Isra, who seems intent of watching it.
She moves to search the aft cabin, "The admiral's always stayed in the rear of the ship when I was in Ustalav. It s there we might find more answers. Let Tsu play with her new friend, we have work to do here."
Hornietelle inspects the shipping manifest but it provides little information other than the contents of a "Flesh-forged Creature" with a Nexian origin.
The fleshforged creature waits with Tsu as the group disperses; Isra remains on guard.
Knab and Rikki head towards the cabins where they find a stark contrast to the rest of the ship; the cabin has been somewhat cleared of algae and cleaned. There are six simple beds crammed into the space, each with a fresh set of linens good enough for any non-noble. Underneath the beds there are small footlockers but when searched they contain only ordinary clothes.
In one of the corners of the room Knab finds a smelly, salt-crusted rag with some weight to it. Unrolling it he finds two crying angel pendants. Searching the room the group finds nothing additional.
Hornietelle heads towards the aft and enters a Map room. The cabin's floor has been cleared of the algae present everywhere else on the ship. There is a simple table set up in the center of the room with a few chairs pulled up around it. The aft wall bears a large carving of a coat of arms, visible even despite the wear of the elements. An antique lanterns hangs above the carving, casting a faint light over papers strewn over the table.
Hornietelle recognizes the coat of arms on the aft wall as an insignia of the Talden navy. She also recognizes the lantern as an everburning torch formed into a lantern, with glass that can be manipulated to change the color of light it sheds. The two of these strongly suggest the ship is in fact a relic of the original Silent Tide invasion.
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When faced with the question of what to do with Stitchy, Tsu immediately replies, "Can I keep him? I'll keep an eye on him and keep him out of trouble. He just needs a friend! I mean, we can't just leave him here! That would be cruel!" and she looks pleadingly at the group with the hint of tears starting to form in her eyes at the prospect of leaving her friend behind.
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Hornietelle gathers the papers and takes the lantern down, "To light our way should we need it." After a look round for anything else useful or worth silver, she exits the cabin, to hear Tsu pleading to take the stitchman with her. The elf's face almost drops in both shock and revulsion at taking the thing with them, But if it befriends Tsu, it might make an unwelcome bodyguard, a bodyguard none the less.
With an effort she regains control of her emotions and the cold calculation returns to her facial expression. "Bring your pet Tsu, leaving it here is a danger to amateur explorers and children. You never know the society might have use of it, study it and learn more than we have found."
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"You can keep him, young one." Knab allows, seeing as she has become so attached. Never should have given "it" a name!...
"Well, no one's died of scurvy on my sundial!" He declares, displaying the Crying Angel Pendants as "up for grabs" "Any takers?"...
...
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Tsu is absolutely beaming. Not only did she make a new friend, but her beloved Elven beauty stood up for her. This may be the best day of her life. Tsu's smile is enormous as she continues to hold Stitchy's hand and leans in to him saying, "Hear that, buddy? Everybody wants you to come along! We'll have such a great adventure!"
And then, she looks directly at Hornietelle, nothing but pure loving gratitude in her eyes, and says, "Thank you," then, catching herself a bit, looks around at the whole group and adds, "Thank you all! You'll see, Stitchy will be a great traveling companion!"
The group ferries back to shore with the flesh-forged creature with them. Stitchy sticks close to Tsu wherever the group goes. Heading towards the precipice quarter, several of you gather information from locals regarding the haunted house. Hornietelle hears a rumor from several individuals that the former owners were slavers and at night the cries for mercy used to be heard from afar.
Arriving to haunted house it is clear that the home might have once commanded respect and envy of its neighbors but the house has since fallen into disrepair. The walls are cracked and crumbling, and whatever the upper stories might have once had has long collapsed. There are two curving staircases that lead to a broad veranda bereft of its railings. Two openings that might have once had doors lead into the faint remnants of a solarium, while two more doors lead further into the creaking house itself. A whiff of rot and decay seeps from the structure.
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to Isra "Let us hope we can be our own angels, eh?" Hoping the stress of narrowly avoiding breaking his anathema doesn't remove his sense of humor...
Knab draws his longspear, and follows Rikki's lead, following strict marching order including accommodating any nuances either the dwarf or the elf command of him. He will Investigate for clues to answer his question "what caused this place to become haunted?" while keeping his third eye set upon his partys' safety against unexpected traps.
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Hornietelle follows Tsu and her new friend, she leaves a slight gap, now that Tsu has her pet, fortunately she is able to alleviate some of the revulsion with the perfume of roses from her magic.
Arriving at the mansion, she is saddened by the demise of a once great house, When one noble declines, we all loose a little of our nobility. "Tsu, you go ahead, I'll follow, this places reeks of death." Even her the air of roses cannot stop the smell of decay and the lingering feeling of darkness about this place.
Aside from old floorboards creeking, the group spots nothing noteworthy; no traps are detected and Knab finds no clues for the source of what caused the house to become haunted.
Mr. Stitch eagerly follows Tsu and seems unfazed by the stench that encompasses the old manor.
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Bringing Stitchy along, but making sure he's behind her where he can be kept safe and thatHornietelle is similarly out of harm's way, Tsu moves up to the door and says, "Well, if Knab's sure it's not trapped, guess we may as well go in," then, turning to Stitchy with smile, she says, "This is called adventuring!" and then she opens the door and looks inside.
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"Let's find that poor wee badgie." Rikki says, starting his own search for the creature with Thork by his side as always.
"Such a grand place, now dead. Soon it'll be demolished the cycle will begin anew. Even the cities have a life of their own, if you know how to look at it the right way." He muses aloud as he looks around.
"And if we can help this hoose or its spirit find rest of their own, all the better."
As the door opens Tsu sees tiled floor and ornate columns of the hall which evoke a distinctively Taldan aesthetic, though the finery has suffered greatly over the past years. The marble floor tiles are cracked and filthy, and the statuary lining the walls has been smashed. None of the three staircases climb beyond head level before ending abruptly due to debris fallen from the upper floors.
When there is a moment of silence, Tsu hears a faint sound of scratching which seems to be coming from beneath the floorboards in the main hall.
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"Umm, do you guys hear that scratching?" she says, cocking her head slightly to one side and looking around before settling on the center of the main hall. "Sounds like it's coming from...down there? A basement, maybe?"
Then she looks at Rikki and Knab beside her and says, "Do you guys think it's safe to head in?" then turns to Stitchy and adds with a smile, "That's called being cautious!"
Then, as a thought occurs to her, she reaches toward the katar on her belt and suggests, "I could maybe toss this in there to see what happens?"
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Isra hears the others speaking and enters the hall. He keeps close to Knab, checking the integrity of the floor boards as he goes. He glances up at the ceiling and walls from time to time.
"This place was impressive, once. Steady yourself, my dwarven friend. We don't want to go crashing through this floor."
As Isra and Knab enter the room, the scratching sound suddenly stops. Irsa notes that the floorboards nearby are cracked but otherwise sturdy.
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"Make sure Hornietelle's safe, please" Tsu says to Rikki, "I'm going to go follow Isra to make sure he's safe. C'mon, Stitchy. Stay behind me, buddy," Tsu says as she takes up a position between Isra and Knab so she can protect either of her friends, and of course, Stitchy is right behind her where she can keep him safe as well.
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The elf, straightens her outfit, before entering the hall of the ruined mansion, she holds Sting in her hand as she looks around, deciding that Knab's aroma was at least a live smell, unlike the smell from the undead walking doll that Tsu had befriended.
"If there's a scratching, then scratch the itch and find out what it could be." she says to her simple friends with a sigh.
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Knab steps forward to allow Rikki in the doorway.
He will leave the speaking to the others for now - but something in his gut tells him that there won't be much need of that.
He shifts to Scouting while Trapfinding , unable to find any clues, and sensing danger, that cessation of scratching causing the grey hair on the back of his neck to raise!
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Hornietelle turns her head towards the sound, her sensitive ears ready to find the creature, if it is close by. She closes her eyes and concentrates, whispering "Quiet, I might hear something."
Your ears are finely tuned, able to detect even the slightest whispers of sound. As long as you can hear normally, you can use the Seek action to sense undetected creatures in a 60-foot cone instead of a 30-foot cone. You also gain a +2 circumstance bonus to locate undetected creatures that you could hear within 30 feet with a Seek action.
As Isra approaches the door he can see a large, long-cold fireplace in what appears to be an expansive parlor. The furnishings he sees are all rotted, and there is a dank stench of mold that lingers in the air.
Hornietelle hears the scratching sound distantly but then it goes quiet again.
Rikki attempts to find tracks but he isn't sure what it is he's supposed to be tracking, and finds no obvious tracks.
Knab finds no threat of danger, and Tsu feels well protected being in the middle of all her companions. Mr stitch continues to follow along, and doesn't seem at all bothered by the stench or sounds.
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"Well, downstairs is where we heard the scratching," Tsu says, "but would it be smart to check the rest of the upstairs first? I mean, we're here for a badger that's not supposed to still be alive," and then she looks over at Rikki and says, "sorry," then continues, "so I think maybe the scratching isn't the badger?" She then turns and nods at Stitchy pleased with the wisdom in her words.
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Hornietelle indicates to Tsu, that there is a door close to the room Isra entered, "If we are looking to search this floor, perhaps you and ..... " her voice quietens to a whisper as she searches for words. "could open that door." she says in a more demanding voice. She carefully makes her way towards the door following Tsu.
Tsu detects no traps, opens the door and peers into what appears to have once been a fine dining room. The furniture in the room has been crushed by debris falling from the floors above. What remains is sodden and mostly unidentifiable.
Searching the room, she finds nothing noteworthy.
As Tsu returns to the main hall the scratching sound quickly returns. Suddenly phantasmal rotting hands, wearing heavy manacles, burst from the floor underneath Tsu, tearing into her legs. The legs seem to be trying to pull her to the ground as they dig into her flesh.
Manacles!! Round 1: Bold May Act
Hornietelle
Knab
Tsu (-14 piercing [DC 17 basic will save for half], 2d6 persist bleed damage)
Isra
Rikki