As Ketra's questions sink in the guard's eyes snap forward into the middle distance, their faces impassive. "Sorry ma'am, we give no credence to rumor and hearsay," the other says stiffly.
"Yeah. Bad for our careers," the other mutters, but closes his mouth and straightens when the first guard clears his throat meaningfully.
"No credence? There's no one that doesn't like a story, especially if it makes the day-to-day pass by faster. Heck, I'm sure the one I heard was even from an off-duty guard."
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"Not all stories are fun, miss," The second guard sighs. "Some of them have sad endings, like a good soldier getting dead-ended in garrison duty for--"
"That's enough Ebert," the first guard hisses, though his face remains mostly impassive as he watches the crowd. "Not even Doeswen can insinuate her commander was derelict in his duty without proof. Now shut your gods-damned mouth or I'll report you." He snaps a hard look over to Ketra. "I think you better move on, ma'am, you're holding up the line."
"Ooops, sorry." She waves to the people waiting to see the Shield to go around her. To the guards she says "Thanks for the time, and hope you don't have to deal with any incidents!" before joining the rest of the party heading to get an audience with the Dean.
Once with the others she shrugs "They weren't too chatty, but they did mention the name Doeswen. Something about dereliction of duty, but who knows. Not sure if that's worth anything."
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"Perhaps Gandry's secret isn't as secret as he'd like it to believe. It fits if he was the commander of the shield knights at one point. Otherwise, there may be more corrupt Shield Knights than just the one - which just increases the likelyhood the shield was tainted somehow," Rosalind muses. "Let's ask about Gandry's former poision when we find a convenient moment. For now, I think seeing the Dean is more urgent."
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Sanduro shakes his head trying to focus despite Zsofia's incessant yammering in his head, but doesn't get very far. As the group moves away from the guards, he keeps his voice down and lets the others know what little he was able to discern from the pieces of the Shield.
"There are a number of magical effects on the shards on display. They're powerful magic, the least of them is as powerful as the strongest spells I can cast. Are they as powerful as I would expect from a relic like this?" The druid shrugs. "No idea. After a point, I'm just not strong enough a spellcaster yet to be able to tell the difference between 'wildly powerful magic' and 'nearly godlike magic.' And for all we know, the true Shield of Arnisant is just a really powerfully enchanted but otherwise ordinary shield with a lot of folklore behind it."
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"That's worrying Rosa. If Gandry wasn't the only one making mistakes, then who knows how much could have happened with the Shield." Ketra crosses her arms before she responds to Sanduro "If it's just a normal magic shield, I don't know if that's better or worse for us. It's just as bad if there's some magical trap that's been hidden in it. Or..." She scowls "Agh, no use speculating, let's find that Dean."
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Leaving behind the Reliquary Hall, it takes you the better part of an hour to locate the Precentor's offices and talk your way past several sets of aides and officials--but eventually you find yourselves waiting in a small but well-appointed meeting room. After ten minutes or so the door opens and the Precentor Martial Veena Heliu steps inside.
"I was called to an emergency meeting this morning by the the Second Swordknight informing me of the goings-on," she begins without preamble. "And have spend some time in frantic communication with my colleagues, who have confirmed that the Great Seal remains intact. It is convenient that you came to me, tracking you down may have taken me hours; I have many questions for you about this supposed weapon and where our enemy got it. Seems unlikely that he found it under the floorboards of Gallowspire after all this time, no?" Despite the apparent joke Heliu doesn't smile as she takes a seat opposite you, fingers interlaced. Another white-uniformed Reliquary Guard closes the door and stands in front of it, expression alert but not on edge.
"That means that something has changed. I am sure he has built many strange and horrific weapons, but the Great Seal is intact which means he should not be able to affect the world outside his prison. My current theory is a ritual working, likely involving many participants--certainly over a dozen, perhaps two if the scale of the destruction is accurate."
"Oh! You're already in the know. That's good." Ketra blinks, surprised that for once the group doesn't need to do any convincing. "But I'm thinking that you're thinking that we know a lot more about this than we do." She glances over at Rosa, hoping the captain might be able to diplomatically explain how little the group knows of the way the weapon works.
Ketra then adds "Just a single person was in our town setting the weapon up before it went off... or at least that's the impression we have. If it was a ritual, it wasn't a complex one or it was something that could be done at a distance. Not sure which of those is worse." She grimaces.
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Taking her cue from Ketra, Rosa starts pleading their case. "It's an honor to meet you, Precentor Martial Heliu," She said, bowing her head to the woman respectfully. "And I am glad you are taking this threat seriously. I wish I could tell you more about the workings of the weapon, but I only know what we learned from the Cult leader..."
"That said, I'm afraid, as an Inquisitor, that doubting is what I do. While the Great Seal may appear intact, I am fairly confident that one of the Tyrant's high-ranking agents escaped the prison and is currently operating within the city. At least three of our allies have either confirmed or have been witness to this Count Gildais's workings here," Rosalind explains, recounting the statements of Dandelion and Gandry, along with Doeswin's implied transferring over seeing the result of Gandry's corruption. Trying to uphold her promise to him, she also requests that Gandry not be punished for his actions. "As to how Gildais got out when your allies confirm the Seal is still intact, I do not know. Perhaps Tar-Baphon has found a way to open cracks that he then closes. Or perhaps our allies are compromised the way Gandry was."
She takes a deep breath. "Regardless, that is of later concern. What is most important now is that Gildais has had access to the Shield of Varnisant. He expressively bribed Gandry to be alone with it, and Doeswen saw him touch the Shield. What is more is that someone ordered a perfect replica copy of the shield some time ago, probably using a false likeness to do so. There may have been a switch or partial switch of the fragments."
"I am not yet fully certain what Gildais did to the shield. But given the existence of this new weapon, I must assume the worst. We need to examine the shield for how it was altered by the Whispering Way, alert that it might seem normal but aware that might be false. Can you assist us in this? There are few more suited to scrutinize a magical artefact than the Dean herself."
”The necrotic cataclysm that destroyed Roslar’s Coffer emanates from a leather satchel that radiated powerful negative energy as we approached,” adds Garret, ”But we arrived far too late to observe any ritual or, indeed, to stop its explosion.”
Heliu takes copious notes during the explanation of your findings so far, interrupting occasionally to ask a clarifying question or two but otherwise the scratching of her quill is the only sound.
"You saw no ritualists, and yet there was a focus--presumably inside the satchel. Yet I don't see how the ritual could be conducted from afar...perhaps the energies were carried along a layline...? There are several major ones anchored out of the Fangwood, but those are mainly in the south and quite far from Gallowspire." She sets down her quill and studies her own notes for a time before turning to the guard at his post before the door.
"Sent a team to bring in Gandry, but be discreet. However noble his motives we can't ignore the crimes he is alleged to have committed, particularly given the current danger." The guard nods once and departs, and the Precentor sighs.
"This business with Gildais and possible tampering with the Shield of Arnisant troubles me. It beggars belief that agents of the Whispering Way could have bypassed the wards in Reliquary Hall without anyone noticing--they were crafted decades ago by my predecessors and there is no backdoor mechanism they could have taken advantage of. Even if they could, what advantage is there to stealing any of the fragments at all? They still contain lingering enchantments, but nothing useful or functional, and yet if they sought to damage our morale why keep the theft a secret? We are missing something..."
Tapping her fingers on the table, the mage looks up to give Sanduro and intent look. "I'd like to debrief your phantom, and the dwarf as well. Bring her in, if you would--it doesn't sound like she's a Whispering Way agent but one can never be too careful."
”I don’t know what form the focus can take, but disguising a bomb as a piece of the shield would make it possible to detonate with little or no warning. Surely there is some investigation you can do to make sure the shield has not been tampered with or a piece replaced with the bomb and disguised,” Garret emphasizes, wanting to make sure that threat is addressed.
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"My friend speaks true. Quietus described the workings as oscillating waves of postive and negative energy; perhaps there are some hints of such that could be found on it. I would wager that, to the Whispering Way, using the shield for evil would count as Karmic retribution. It was used to defeat their master. Now they would use it to defeat us. And we already suspect that the Way is a lot better at hiding magical sabotage than we gave them credit for," Rosalind muses, but doesn't object when the group is commanded to get the dwarven Smith.
"All right, we will be back shortly. It wouldn't hurt to get more information on this. Though perhaps it would be best to at least close the exhibition of the shield to the public for a while. I'm sure there is some convenient excuse we could use such as a routine inspection of the wards or such. "
Heliu sighs. "We will examine the Shield's fragments...tonight, after the hall is closed to the public. I share the Second Swordknight's concerns about tipping our hand that we know something is up, we don't want any cult cells in the city to realize we're on to them."
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Sanduro manifests Zsofia once the group has left the War College, as they start for Bruna's workshop. The phantom falls into step next to Rosalind, Sanduro just a step or two behind them.
”So, Cap’n Rosie, I feel like you’re not giving me enough credit. I may not remember the caper, but I’m pretty sure it ain’t because it wasn’t me running the scam. It’s like - it’s like a portrait with the person cut out of it. You can’t see who it’s supposed to be a picture of, but it ain’t like you can’t tell it was a picture of someone. I can feel the outline of the hole where the memory used to be, though.”
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Sanduro clears his throat. “It’s not like Zsofia remembers much from her life, to be fair, and when she does remember something, it’s often pretty vague. That’s typical of phantoms. But the memories she recovers have usually turned out to be accurate. And it’s hard to be sure, but this might be something more than just the ordinary forgetfulness that death brings.” He sighs. “Or not. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Whatever scheme the fake Shield was intended for, it wouldn’t have been outside the bounds for Zsofia’s previous life of banditry…”
The phantom interrupts. “Bandit-QUEENERY!”
“Fine, your nefarious bandit-queenery. But even you have to admit it sounds a little bit too subtle for you to have been running it alone.”
Ketra immediately feels guilty as it seems that Gandry's well-meaning indiscretion is leading to immediate trouble with his former superior. Tormented as he appeared by his actions, that had already seemed like plenty of punishment. Still, what's been let out of the bag can't be put back in now. She listens in as Rosa, Garret and Heliu discuss the situation. "I wonder if you're on to something Rosa. This group seem like the kind that would look to make a statement, and making the Shield part of their plan makes a really horrifying statement to anyone in Lastwall. No, maybe anyone anywhere in Golarion. It's like saying 'We won't be scared of this any more. It has no power over us.'"
She worries about the power of an organization that can afford such elaborate plans if they aren't necessary, and continues worrying as the conversation wraps up and the group starts to head to meet up with their suspicious new dwarf friend.
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LAMASHAN 5, 1PM
You take your leave from Heliu's office, moving back down the Watcher's Tor past the long line of pilgrims. Finding Brunna's place of business is simple enough, as she seems to be well-known amongst the ubiquitous Watchknights who are happy to provide directions if asked.
Yet as you move down the street, the crowd's energy shifts; you see people moving towards you, questions rippling from person to person alongside a sense of uncertainty and muted alarm. As you keep moving, you catch a whiff of smoke and the crowd's murmurings become clearer: there's a fire up ahead. You pick up your pace and soon find yourself in a square in the process of being cordoned off by Watchknights, trying to direct civilians away while others organize a bucket brigade.
The source of the smoke and fire fills you with surprise and alarm: a smithy, smoke pouring from its sturdy forge-hall and tongues of flame visible in the windows and doorway. The sign out front of it reads Brunna's Quality Shields, the wood already starting to blacken from smoke and heat.
"ROLF!" the scream cuts through the noise of the crowd, and you see Brunna herself struggling against a pair of Watchknights holding her back. She reaches for the smithy while futilely trying to pry the guards' hands away. "ROLF! Get out of there! Let me go you bastards my nephew is in there! He's still inside! ROLF!"
Racing forward, Garret tries to douse the flames with his only option, calling forward, ”Shield your eyes!”
Pyrotechnics to extinguish the flames, converting them to fireworks (long range, so hopefully while the party is still more than 120 feet away).
”I can resist the fire, but I need to get there quickly so we can find Rolf and get him out before the fire reasserts itself,” he adds.
Ketra groans at the sight of their destination burning. She can't help but think this isn't some random accident. When Garret scurries forth, she follows a few steps behind and shields her eyes. "Right, we've got to go quick." She doesn't have Garret's fire resistance, so she takes out a cloth from her bag, soaks it with water from her waterskin, and covers her nose and mouth. She hopes it'll be better than nothing.
She hurries after Garret as he approaches the building.
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"”So, Cap’n Rosie, I feel like you’re not giving me enough credit. I may not remember the caper, but I’m pretty sure it ain’t because it wasn’t me running the scam. It’s like - it’s like a portrait with the person cut out of it. You can’t see who it’s supposed to be a picture of, but it ain’t like you can’t tell it was a picture of someone. I can feel the outline of the hole where the memory used to be, though.”
"Have you considered the alternative? This is me giving you credit, Zsofia. I vastly prefer thinking of someone using your likeness without your knowledge to the other option - that there is a decent chance you were once an agent of the Whispering Way, actively involved in a scheme that might well threaten the lives of everyone here," Rosalind says, her face hardening as the group hurries towards their next destination. She'd been critically late one too many times. Never again. "I intentionally left out whoever ordered the replica shield looked like you as I do not want undue suspicion to fall on you - or us. After the meeting the Marshall, that is the last thing we need right now."
"Of course, this is assuming all these pieces of information are related and not unfortunate coincedences..."
Speaking of coincidences, the smithy they'd been about to investigate was suddenly burning down. She curses under her breath as the group rushed towards the structure. "You! As a Captain of the Watch, I order you to stand aside. Let us pass!" She says to the guardsmen.
Once there, she asks her Patron for a gift of fire-resistant energy. "Okay. Now to get inside... Zsofia, can you phase through the wall and see where her Nephew is?" she follows, readying herself to barge into the structure...
As the group starts preparing for a plunge into the burning building, Garret invokes a spell to convert the flames into a flurry of light and noise. This seems to startle the crowd and Watchknights alike--even Brunna falls silence as the flames die away. For a moment there's silence, before the shutters are blown off as flames come roaring back to life. They lick higher than before, as though affronted at the sorcerer's attempt to smother them.
Sanduro casts communal resist fire on the group (20) then turns the phantom into her incorporeal form. “Zsofia, go!” for once, the phantom follows instructions and darts through the wall into the workshop. The druid walks up to the wall to give her as much of her 50’ tether to work with as possible.
Turning to Bruna, he asks “Where is he? Tell me and I can communicate it to her.”
With the protection of Sanduro's resist fire spell, Ketra feels far more confident about an extended stay in the burning building, especially with a wet cloth to breathe through . When Zsofia zips into one section of the building, Ketra calls out "Lets divide up and cover more at once." before stepping up to check another portion. She stays to the outside mostly but moves in if she can't get a good look to check for anyone trapped.
Brunna gapes at the druid until his question sinks in. "I don't--I don't know! He was doing inventory in, in the main room but there's a cellar and--" Another flare and crackle of fire rises from the smithy with a billow of smoke and the dwarf's answer chokes off in a strangled moan.
Armed with arcane protection from fire, your group advances on the smithy and climbs over the fence. Zsofia drifts forward, plunging through the wall of the central building and then Sanduro feels a sudden surge of alarm and danger from the phantom.
For her part, Zsofia emerges from the wall and finds herself in an inferno; the room is nearly full to the brim with fire, twisting and surging in strange and uncanny ways. It's not until a pair of blue-white lights like eyes turn to face her that than phantom realizes what she's looking at: an enormous fire elemental, it's scorching bulk filling the room. The creature hisses something in a voice like crackling wood and lunges for her, its long whiplike arms sweeping through the former bandit's incorporeal torso. Luckily for Zsofia the flames are seemingly limited in their ability to burn her insubstantial form.
+ ROUND ONE +
Fire Elemental
Sanduro
Zsofia (-20hp)
Garret
Rosalind
Ketra
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"We'll get him out! Just keep yourself safe first!" Rosalind calls back to Brunna as she rushes in.
Blessed with the brilliant idea of holding her breath and magically fortified against fire and heat, Rosalind is unaffected by the smoke and fire both. Warned by Zsofia, she pushes herself to the side as Garret's ice blast shoots it around the corner. She prays for a burst of divine energy as she then takes up the front before him, hoping to shield the sorceror from retribution.
"If he can do that again, all I have to do is make sure it can't get past me..."
Ketra's not quite sure where to go, and the smoke isn't making it any easier to guess where the lost Rolf might be. She heads over the fence and weaves her way around the worst of the fires.
Garret moves up, magically screened from the searing flames consuming the smithy. Upon spotting the enormous fire-spirit assailing Zsofia the halfling invokes the power of the frost wyrm and a wave of gelid energy pours from his throat.
The creature thrashes in agony, its very form hissing and partially evaporating as fire meets ice--but it is not finished yet.
+ ROUND ONE +
Fire Elemental (-64hp)
Sanduro
Zsofia (-20hp)
Garret
Rosalind
Ketra
Sanduro staggers through the smoke into the house and follows up on Garret's blast of supernatural cold with a much weaker flurry of snowballs.
"HEY!!! THAT ACTUALLY HURT!!!"
Zsofia darts across the room to stand behind Sanduro, looking considerably the worse for wear.
"I can't even punch that thing in its stupid flaming face but it can still burn a hole through me?!? That's not fair!"
Flapping her incorporeal hands in a futile attempt to fan air over the still-smoking, charred handprint the elemental left in the middle of her chest, the phantom snarls, "If you want me to fight, I need to be able to hit the thing!"
The party advances on the smithy despite the impediment of the thick smoke, while Zsofia beats a hasty retreat. Covering his phantom companion's withdrawal, Sanduro maneuvers for a shot at the elemental and takes it. Caught off-guard, the enormous fire-spirit is unable to evade the strike and the shards of ice and snow drive through it like bullets from Silvia's rifle. With a hiss the elemental's form collapses, the flames around it seeming to get a little less violent.
The victory is short-lived, however, as suddenly the flames resume their wild dance as a second, equally massive elemental roars into being, literally appearing from thin air! A chorus of alarmed cries and gasps comes from crowd and Watchknights watching from safe distance as the fire spirit rises to its towering sixteen-foot height!
The elemental is beyond obvious, but it's not alone here--in the mouth of an adjacent alley there is a figure, crouched and hiding. He looks to be and skinny elderly human man in a disheveled cloak of black feathers, a birds beak mask resting atop his head. His sly smile, revealing a mouth missing half its teeth, transforms into a surprised gasp as he notices you noticing him. A curled, crumpled length of parchment is gripped in one bony hand and a curved knife rests at his belt.
+ ROUND ONE +
Fire Elemental
Sanduro
Zsofia (-20hp)
Garret (Sickeed)
Newcomer Fire Elemental
?????
Rosalind
Ketra (Sickened)
Taking a careful step back (5 foot step west), Garret releases another cone of cold dragon breath.
When a second fire elemental immediately springs up, just as big as the first, Ketra gets the sense that something isn't quite right here. One elemental was already quite strange, especially one so deadly. A second was altogether reeking of foul play. As a result she's not entirely surprised when she spots some sinister fellow to the side. She leaves the elemental to the rest of the party and instead rushes to engage the hidden man.
As steps closer to the window, Sanduro spots Ketra confronting someone outside. He pulls an iridescent pearl of power from a pocket and recalls the last spell he cast (flurry of snowballs).
Now all we have to do is live long enough for me to cast it again and hope that the same combination of Garret's magic and mine that worked against the first creature will do as well against this one.
Zsofia swats at Sanduro's head, but her hand just passes harmlessly through his skull. "What are you waiting for? Stop fiddling with that pebble and blast him again! I mean, blast again, at him!"
Ketra ends up in the alleyway confronting the suspicious man. Quietly she says "Mister, it's not safe here, the building could collapse... what's left of it could collapse. Let me help you out."
As Sanduro refills his magical reserves and Zsofia provides 'tactical advice,' Garret and Rosalind fall upon the new elemental with cold steel and even colder spell! The creature is left reeling and wounded, parts of its form bleeding away but it's not down yet. It lashes out at Captain Sunstone, but in its wounded state the blows lack the force to beat past the Watchknight's guard.
The old man gapes at Ketra for a moment--if he's a mage he looks and smells like one who's been out on the streets for a time, with grime under his nails and whiskey on his breath. His voice has a reedy tone and he rasps like someone whose seen a lot of years of hard living.
"Oh? Oh! Yes, yes, collapse--buildings do that when they're on fire sometimes, don't they?" He wheezes a cackle and does a little caper. "Thank you for your offer to help, young lady! There is something you can do for me, actually..." His voice suddenly turns harsh and intones strange incomprehensible words, staring wide-eyed at Ketra.
It's not like you know or trust this guy, but somehow it just doesn't occur to you not to do what he says. It just feels natural, somehow.
The old man leans forward and whispers to Ketra, "Do not indicate to anyone in any way that you saw me! Do not follow me. Act normal, but if you get the chance--stab that dwarven smith!" Giggling to himself, he turns and shuffles off down the alley, quickly turning a corner out of sight.
+ ROUND TWO +
Fire Elemental
Sanduro
Zsofia (-20hp)
Garret (Sickened)
Newcomer Fire Elemental (-79hp)
Strange Old Man
Rosalind
Ketra (Sickened)
Garret takes another careful step back and sends a quintet of magic missiles at the elemental!
Struggling against the smoke, he says, ”Where is everyone? Can anyone see anybody trapped in the fire?”
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Ketra smiles placidly at the fellow as he speaks. His finger wriggling and the context of his whispers are all the confirmation she needs. As he tries to move away from her, she whips her foot out and trips him.
Leaning close, she whispers "Oops. For you." before she shouts "I FOUND THE ARSONIST. OLD MAN WITH A BLACK FEATHERED CLOAK, BEAK MASK AND BAD BREATH. HE CALLED THE ELEMENTAL WITH A SCROLL!" She whirls to the side to make sure he's between her and the wall of the alley, and then pins him to the ground with her knee.
"I'LL ONLY BE ABLE TO HOLD HIM FOR A MOMENT, PROBABLY, SO SMASH THAT ELEMENTAL AND FIND THAT BOY QUICK!"
Garret's fusillade of bolts finishes the job he and Rosalind has started, tearing up the fire elemental's already ragged form and sending it back to its home plane. A cheer goes up from the crowd, pointing and clapping at your group's heroics. The fires die down a bit, but are still crackling up the smithy's walls; the Watchknights resume directing civilian volunteers into a bucket brigade now that the danger seems reduced.
Looking around, the structure is badly damage but you don't see any bodies. Peering into a back room you see charred crates and other storage supplies, but also a metal door set into the floor. It's glowing red-hot but it likely leads down to a cellar or similar.
Hitting the ground with a whuff as the wind is knocked out of him, the grimy old man musters only a feeble resistance as Ketra pins him down. "Hrmph! Get...off...me! He wriggles but the dancer's expert use of her weight and joint-lock grip make the effort futile.
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"Garret, the next time there is an orc invasion, I'm taking you with me," Rosalind says, very much impressed by the amount of magical destruction wrought about by the halfling in mere seconds. She turns to Sanduro, begins to offer the same compliment but then sees Zsofia very noisily pestering her... master? Summoner? In her usual... ah... extravagant manner. "Maybe just Garret would do."
Ketra's warning shouts pull her back to the present.
"Garret, can you help Ketra? Sanduro, Zsofia, I might need another healer to help the dwarf!" She says, as she begins to advance through the smoke until she finds the door. "Maybe he's behind here! Stand back!"
Warded by fire, but not wanting to risk the red-hot door right away, she begins casting a spell. "Aquam accerso!" She says, pointing to the door as a significant amount of water is conjured to the area . Then she takes hold of the door and attempts to force it open...