Aisling keeps her footing without too much dificulty, swinging her sword and landing a clean hit. Finally. She's going to blame it on the training dummies not bieng small and skittery and poisony-biting. Which is totally a word. She's a lawyer.
Vantine exhales.
Aisling lashes out at the last of the spiders, carving it in two and leaving the air dead in silence, save for the heavy breathing of the Ravens.
Investigating the corpse confirms that this man was an Asmodean - he looks to have been a relatively low-ranking priest, by his regalia. His holy symbol is made from fine silver (reforging it into a silver coating for a weapon would be a delicious irony in and of itself), and he carries a vial full of silver dust. He also has four scrolls tied to a bandolier worn around a masterfully crafted breastplate. In one hand he holds a gold charm marked "Hocum's Fantasmagorium."
The Magpie casts read magic and then examines the scrolls. "Doom, cause fear, remove fear, and inflict light wounds.... Yep, this guy was definitely an Asmodean priest!" She hands the bandolier of scrolls to Aisling.
She also takes some time to examine the silver dust and Hocum's charm. She isn't sure what the silver dust is worth, but notices that the charm isn't solid gold and thus likely isn't valuable to anyone who's not a collector.
The Raven shakes his damaged hand some more. "Remind me not to attack her." He mumbles to Dove. "Obviously the silver dust is to be thrown into the face of a vampire. They will inhale it and die. Or is that werewolves?"
"More likely for protection while summoning devils I think" Vantine comments. "I believe it is used to make a circle to contain the devil while a pact is negotiated and struck."
The Raven sighs and shakes his head. "Where do you get such silly ideas, my dear?" He says in an exasperated tone. "This does bode well for us, though! If these devil-worshipers can be bested by some small spiders, they should be nothing to us."
Nyxra leans against the wall and tries to catch her breath, her muscles burning with pain.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Jessibel grins as the Raven gently chides Vantine.
I've never seen someone capable of flustering her rather than falling instantly under her charms!
On the other side of the same coin, however, Jessi can't shake the feeling that she's mentoring under the tutelage of a madman.
Well...if Vantine turns him into a toad, that'd be interesting, too!
Since the others seem to be leaving the looting of the dead Asmodean to her, the bard casts detect magic and examines the man's equipment more closely.
"His breastplate's magical, though I can't pinpoint exactly what enchantment it bears," Jessi reports. "The scrolls, too, of course." After a thoughtful pause, she adds, "How much do we want to loot this fellow? His robes and accessories might help as a disguise if we ever have to slip into an Asmodean stronghold like their temple, but he could have another nest of spiders hidden in his underwear. Or not be wearing anything under his robe at all!"
Belatedly, the Magpie notices Nyxra leaning heavily against one wall; Aisling's looking a bit worse for wear as well. "Did the spiders poison either of you?" she asks with genuine concern. With the party's two best fighters at less than 100%, she asks, "Should we pull back and rest or get treatments? Rexus may be disapointed, but...I think he's gotten his hopes up way too high about his parents still being alive and hiding out in here."
"...they got me pretty bad. Never saw their like before." Nyxra grunts as another wave of pain causes her hands to tremble.
"It's not the bites that'll f*@+ you, it's the venom..."
Aising looks smypathetically at Nyxra. "I'm sorry, I dont think I have magic that works against poison."
She looks at the others. "Do we keep going?"
"I think it a mistake to retreat before we even determine what is or is not transpiring here. The mighty Falcon can always use her deadly bow from range and I shall protect Eagle's flank." The Raven proclaims boldly.
"I could probably help out some, too," the Magpie chimes in, but nowhere near as confidently as her mentor. "I'm not very strong, but I could use my boots to help Aisling and the Raven by flanking their foes."
The teen bard looks to the walking wounded (Aisling and Nyxra) for the final decision, however.
"I'm still fresh" Vantine says, seemingly unaware it might be a gaffe. "I can keep going."
Their path decided, the Ravens make their way deeper into the Fantasmagorium, farther from the statue of Aroden. A foul, sludgy smell of brine strikes their nostrils as they approach the corner of the Insect Zoo and see that a banner above the wide doorway reads "Hall of the Seas."
Aisling's sword-light casts over a dozen glass tanks, each a display of colorful and strange creatures. The many puddles, fish skeletons, and a variety of fragments of shattered glass indicate that at least some of the tanks have broken in the past two decades or so, though. One of the intact tanks is a ten-foot wide cylinder that stands just ahead of the party, an enormous dark shape floating placidly within. It is labeled "the Quadclaw Marauder," whatever that means.
Behind the tank, there's a table that might have a few papers lying on it, but at this distance it is hard to be sure. Not even Nyxra can see the far wall clearly - at most, she can make out the shady forms of the boarded up windows. To the heroes' south, past the Marauder's tank, there's another part of the Hall of the Seas, but no one can quite make out what's in it.
The Magpie enters the chamber, sticking to the west side of the hall. Holding her glowing rapier aloft, she peers intently through the eyeholes of her bird mask, looking for items of interest or enemies.
"Ah! I should have brought my fishing pole." The Raven says, approaching the large tank. He knocks on the glass with a knuckle. "What say you, aqueous one? Would you rather stay in this tank or fight the albino alligators in the sewers?" He certainly hopes living creatures had not been bound to these deserted halls for decacades....
As Magpie moves into the room, her rapier's light casts shadows across the Hall of the Seas, and reveals a hallway to the left of the Ravens - one that leads back to the Hall of Cryptids, by the direction.
The Marauder's tank is also illuminated somewhat, clarifying the creature within. The Marauder's upper body is almost lobster-like (if a lobster were the size of a gnome and had four claws), while its back end looks more like an eel.
The Raven's knock and question go unanswered - apparently, the Marauder's not in a talkative mood at the moment.
The light on her rapier lets her see the table and far end of the room a bit better. There are, indeed, papers on the table, though there's no way to tell what they are from this distance. Nothing catches her eye, until she sees movement in the distance. To the south, just beyond the radius of her light, she barely sees something shift slightly - but she can't quite make out what it is. It looks almost like a small mermaid, maybe?
Vantine follows along behind as usual. She's tempted to tap on the "Quadclaw Marauder"'s tank but doesn't; it might be rude. She settles for keeping her eyes peeled.
Jessi is stumped by the true nature of the Quadclaw Marauder. She's about to open her mouth and tell her mentor she's baffled when she spies a hint of movement deeper in the room. Instead, she raises a hand to silence the Raven, pointing toward where she saw the shadow. She strides forward fearlessly (well, actually, her courage is a bit of an act), her glowing rapier pointed toward whatever's lurking nearby.
Vantine hurries along behind Jessi and taps her on the shoulder when she catches her.
"Something's moving over there." Vantine points to the south. "But I can't tell what."
Jessi looks over her shoulder briefly, nodding at Vantine. "I saw it, too. A small mermaid, perhaps?"
She hadn't originally intended to add that last bit--not fully trusting what her eyes had spotted--but they were in the Hall of the Seas, after all.
"Stay behind me," she adds, steeling her resolve to move forward.
"Wouldn't a mermaid be suffocating?" Vantine genuinely doesn't know.
She stays firmly behind Jessi.
As Jessibel moves deeper into the Hall, her sword's light casts over to the southeastern corner of the room. There, lying somewhat prone on the floor, there are two ungodly monstrosities. Fleshy bags with half-formed features, they look like a fusion of dried fish and a desiccated humanoid corpse. The crackle of tiny bones fills the air as they pull themselves towards the Ravens.
Rumors abound about the nature of ningyo flesh and its impact on the lifespan of those who eat it. Many tales claim that to eat ningyo flesh is to live on forever, but others insist that the flesh of these creatures is poisonous, and should be avoided at all costs. More educated sages hold to the latter view, but there are always those who insist on seeking ningyo out. Mostly, they end up dead for their foolishness.
The other trait for which these creatures are famed is their inability to rest easily. After death, if their bodies are not destroyed, ningyo rise as undead by night, as these ones seem to have done. It is good that the Ravens have noticed them - being surprised by these creatures would be quite horrific.
The creatures begin to pull themselves clumsily along the ground towards Magpie, bones creaking audibly.
"Those...aren't... Jessi squeals in rising terror as she gets a good look at the monsters.
"They're undead ningyos!" the bard adds a bit more calmly before launching into one of her inspirational battle chants.
Vantine retreats with Jessi. The little monsters are too far away at the moment, but Vantine readies a hex for one if it comes close enough.
"Ugh! Horrible!"
Jessibel retreats from the oncoming dead creatures, identifying them and beginning to sing her powerful song to uplift the Ravens' spirits, while Vantine grimaces and readies herself to unleash a hex on whichever gets close enough first.
The undead ningyo groan softly and continue to slowly drag themselves along the floor, out into the main Hall of the Seas. Surprisingly, neither manages to get into the range of Vantine's hex.
Aisling striedes forward, boldyly holding up her holy symbol. There's a flash of positive energy as she does her best to destry these creatures.
She hopes it doesn't come to another fight. She's worried about Nyxra.
Beginning to suspect Vantine is related to the Sirens of legend that lure handsome and intelligent men like himself to their doom, the Raven side-eyes the witch. "Hmm. Friends of yours?" He asks, before striding after Aisling and throwing a dagger at one of the fishy persons.
Nyxra grimaces and digs out a potion of lesser restoration to drink.
The Raven dashes into the room, letting a dagger fall into his hand and tossing it at the closer of the two aquatic undead. Flashing in the magically generated light, it whirls end over end to strike its target in the sternum. The ningyo sways backwards as its bones audibly crunch beneath the impact. A low moan emits from its mouth.
Aisling follows her vigilante comrade, holding up the radiant sword of Iomedae and unleashing another burst of her holy power. Though both are seared by the white-gold light, flailing beneath its radiance, neither falls still, their groans echoing in the air.
In the Insect Zoo, Nyxra draws out a potion and gulps it down swiftly. Immediately, she feels a surge of strength return to her muscles - the poison's damage has been flushed away by the potion's magic.
The Magpie steels her courage and swoops forward, targeting the ningyo already injured by her mentor with a strike from her rapier.
for
for
Vantine soft-palms some applause for the Raven and Jessi so she doesn't make too much noise. How very exciting for them! They are are getting better at the duo thing!
She mostly sure it's not too early to celebrate.
Jessibel moves gracefully forwards, her blade aglow in one hand. With a graceful lunge, she spears the most injured ningyo through the eye, cracking its spine, and knocking it to the ground. Vantine claps quietly, apparently willing to let her fellows finish the last foe.
Said foe drags itself forwards, its clawed hands ripping at Magpie and its rotten teeth snapping viciously. Though the young bard manages to ward away its flailing limbs, it manages to sink its teeth into her leg, tearing a chunk away.
Ohh dearest Magpie! Why walk up to something with no legs? The Raven laments Magpie's questionable tactical decisions, but charges in to assist her, punching Vantine's legless sister in her ugly face.
Feeling reinvigorated, Nyxra steps up and swings her sword!
Vantine stops clapping. Oh!
The Raven rushes to join his apprentice, pounding the small undead monster hard. He feels the bones crack under his fists, and the flesh tear. It moans, though whether it is actually in pain or not is unclear.
Aisling arrives next to Jessibel, touching her and endowing her with the power and grace of Iomedae. The young bard feels her limbs grow stronger and quicker.
Meanwhile, Nyxra maneuvers through the fighters, dodging the flailing limbs of the ningyo, before attacking herself. Unfortunately, her own acrobatic evasions have put her off-balance, and she can't quite manage to strike home.
In the distance, the heroes hear the sounds of bells - no doubt the Temple of Asmodeus'.
Vantine curses the ninygo with misfortune.
Taking inspiration from the nimble Nyxra, Jessi clicks the heels of her magical boots together before swooping gracefully into flanking position opposite the Raven, leaving a space for Aisling to join the battle. Again her rapier flicks outward toward the undead creature.
for
Jessibel dodges out of the way, flanking the ningyo and skewering it in the back of the neck. The blow is so well struck that it nearly tears the creature's skull from its spine, and the ningyo falls to the ground, dead once more.
The Magpie proves her worth to the party, executing the killing blow on both the ningyos. Though her mask hides some of it, the teen bard underneath the partial cowl shows signs of giddy pride in her contribution.
"There--done!" she says quietly to no one in particular. "That wasn't too bad,' she adds, examining the slight wound on her leg. "I don't believe these things are poisonous or that their injuries fester; I should be good for now."
The newly confident bard/explorer pushes onward, searching the area for loot...or more foes.
Jessibel doesn't find anything especially threatening or valuable, but she does notice that the shattered tank - from which the ningyo presumably had emerged - is labeled "Arcadian Mermaids." The rest of the room is filled with tanks of dead fish of various sorts, and a few wooden carvings designed to evoke the mysteries of the depths - though she doesn't recognize any of them as existing creatures.
"Well, the museum people thought they were mermaids too."
Perhaps Vantine says this to make Jessi feel better for identifying the ningyos incorrectly at first, forgetting that Jessi was also the one to correctly identify them. Maybe Vanyine says it because she also thought they could be mermaids and didn't figure out the mistake for herself. Maybe she says it because it's really, unnervingly, quiet.
"Where to now?"
"Hmm.... How about we try the last set of double doors in the main hall?" Jessi suggests.
The Raven gathers up his thrown knife. He wants to compliment Jessibel's fine fencing, but doesn't want to encourage her reckless behavior. "You know, dear Magpie, the most wonderful thing about mermaids is that they have no legs. Were we to merely walk away at a medium pace, they would nary be able to catch us." A young Alexius would not suggest such unsportsmanlike behavior, but the Raven, fighting alone against a foe greater than himself, had embraced dishonorable tactics years ago. He glances down at Jesisibel's bitten leg. "This would be a bad time to learn you are allergic to seafood." The Raven sheathes his dagger, walking back towards the large central tank and knocking on it again. "Some help you were, Quadrigeminal Brigand! And some help you were!" He says to Vantine, pinching her arm and following Jessibel to the next unopened door.
Vatine cries out in shock, horror, and bewilderment.
"Ow! You pinched me! What is wrong with you, you... freak!"