"Wooooot!"
Aletta leaps from her chair when Savas lands the knockout blow. The euphoria lasts until she realizes the meat bag in the opposite corner still has a chance to get up.
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Savas throws a staggering blow, sending the magus reeling. Without a word, it sinks to its knees and falls forward, face-first, onto the mat.
"Bravo!! Well done! A knockout in the first round!" the man in the chair says, clapping excitedly. He draws a key from around his neck and rises to retrieve a locked strongbox from under his chair. Opening the box, he reaches in and brings forth two sacks that are heavy with something. It has the familiar jingle of coin. "As agreed upon, 10,000 gp to the winner. And," he continues, turning to Aletta and Karhu, "I believe that I owe you 19 gold, dear lady, and you nine, fine sir." Having paid his debts, he sits back down and says, "Now, to the matter of your questions. Ask away. If I can answer, I will."
STATUS
Savas: -15 hp
Magen: -41 hp (unconscious)
Aletta accepts her 19 gold pieces, only mildly disappointed she lost out on the chance to double up five times.
"I'm sure many of our questions are the same: What is this place, are you the master of this house, why have we been summoned here, what do you expect from us, and when do we get to leave? And most important, who do I have to f&@* to get a glass of wine around here?"
Breathing hard and clearly a bit staggered from the match, Savas bows to the man and graciously accepts the prize after dabbing blood from his cut lip.
The weight of the coin causes him to suck in a painful breath as his bruised ribs complain at such an additional burden and he quickly places the prize on the nearest table. He also can't help but be amazed that this man in this lost castle, where ever it may be, has such wealth that he can lose on a bet more than an entire village might earn in a single lifetime or more.
The question is, how do I get such a prize back home?" Thoughts fill his mind as Aletta launches her barrage of questions. A puzzled frown marks his face, or would if his eye wasn't busy swelling shut. "Perhaps such a fortune can be lost because it never really leaves? The thought sends a shiver of concern down his spine as he listens with interest to the man's answers.
Rakbura’s entire focus fixes onto the foppish master of the castle. Aletta’s questions certainly cover the start of his questions. ”If I might add a question - where is this place, precisely? Was it made for the purpose of our visit, or if not … how old is it?” How old are you? Are you human, as you appear to be? As much as he wants to ask these questions, he errs on the side of caution and doesn’t - yet.
Moving over to Savas with his healer’s key at the ready, Karhu says, ”Well-fought, mighty warrior. You have earned a great prize should we escape to spend it somewhere.” With tinctures, poultices, and bandages, Karhu soothes the worst of Savas’ injuries.
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"This," the man begins, "Is our humble home, Chateau D'Amberville, and I am Jean-Louis D'Amberville. You have been summoned to break the curse of my brother, Etienne D'Amerville, and it is only by doing such that you can leave. I fear that I do not know how to accomplish this, it is something that you will have to figure out for yourselves. As to the wine, I apologize for my lack of manners." He claps his hands and almost immediately, an ugly humanoid enters bearing a decanter of wine and a glass.
When Rakbura speaks up, he answers, "We are... elsewhere. The chateau was not built to accommodate you, but rather us. The chateau is well-over two centuries old, having been in the family for more than seven generations."
Savas gives Karhu a welcome smile of thanks as he breathes easier following the man's healing ministrations. Continuing to wipe blood and sweat from his face he tips his head thoughtfully at Jean Louis. Indeed, the man could afford to wager so much gold because so far, it has never left.
Pulling his thoughts away from the gold and potential salvation of his family back home he thinks instead on this curse he and his companions must now lift or perish in this rather elegant tomb.
He bows his head to Jean Louis. "If I might inquire, why did your brother curse you? We're there other members of your family also cursed or are you the only one here besides your constructs and...err..servants." He asks directing the last toward the unfortunate creature now serving wine.
"Dear lord Asmodeus," Aletta mutters when the ugly thing appears with her requested wine. I wouldn't f!&# that for all the gold in Greyhawk.
She holds her glass at arm's length to receive the pour while looking anywhere else. Then she steps away quickly and downs half the contents in one great swallow. The wine is good - very good - but no amount of alcohol can help un-see the weirdness of this place.
After Savas' and Rakbura's questions are answered, Aletta follows with one more. "What is the nature of the curse, exactly? Is it simply that you cannot leave this, umm, interesting mansion? I suppose that means we are now also cursed."
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"And we will, of course, need to know everything about how this curse first came about, along with all relevant details about the infamous Etienne D'Amerville.
I have found that knowing how a story ends can usually be found by knowing how it began! For instance, if you tell me that he was once a poor farmer lad, then his story can only end by saving the kingdom and marrying a princess.
'Tis known, sirrah!"
Brian drains his first glass of wine with as much ease as once might drown a drop of water, and, after giving the vintage and appreciable nod, refills his glass.
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"Ah, you misunderstand. Etienne did not curse us. You see, were originally come from a place called Earth, where we secretly practiced magic, as it was largely unknown to the inhabitants. When we were discovered, they drove us out and we fled to another realm called Glantri, where magic was accepted. There we lived for many years in peace. We became very well known and the family became very powerful, even ascending to the leadership of Glantri. But then, one day, we found ourselves here. As Etienne was the most powerful among us, it can only be assumed that he is the key.
"We do not age, we need not eat or drink, nor even sleep. All of our needs are seen to. Some, I am certain, would consider it a blessing, but to us, all of us, it is a curse of the worst kind."
Aletta listens intently to all of what Jean-Louis has to say. It is a fascinating tale.
She skips the question about "Earth" being redundant so why name it that, and moves on to the more pertinent notion about the curse.
Gesturing with a now empty wine goblet, she reflects: "Many grater devils in the lower Hells live as you do. They think of themselves in lofty terms and constantly work to gain advantage to improve positions relative to Lord Asmodeus. From the perspective of a Lesser, it is a tiresome affair. But without such games they would be eternally bored out of their minds, which, unless I'm misreading this, is the state you find yourselves in."
She sets her goblet down on the chair and pokes it in the eye. "How long have you waited for one such as Savas to enter this realm and provide a sporting challenge? And now it is over, so on to the next game, I presume! A series of tests designed to challenge and entertain, and perhaps result in you and your family plummeting out of this plane and back to Glantri. Is that about right? But where does that put us? All the gold there ever was means nothing if we can't also leave to spend it.
"So Jean-Louis, what would you have us do next?"
Rakbura leans forward slightly. "As practitioners yourselves, I must suspect that you have made some insights, some breakthroughs, into your own specializations or craft while trapped here. Our dear Aletta has the point of it - but for myself - well! If you need a ready audience, I would absolutely love to hear what you've done with your time here."
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"You just up and found yourselves here?" Brian says, unbelieving. To him, there's _always_ more to the tale. "Did you have any inkling? Perhaps some other powerful persons had a grudge against you? Then either they cast a spell to get you out of the way, or your good uncle needed everyone to abscond because the torches and pitchforks were out?"
He pauses in ulfish thought.
"Who all lives here now? Yourself and these simacrulae we have seen, but who else? (And pray do tell us who is a live person and who is just an artificial person).
Forsooth, the easiest move would to get in touch with the powerful Etienne and just _ask_ him."
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"You have a keen mind, my dear," Jean-Louis says to Aletta. "Indeed, an eternity of isolation leads to extreme boredom and you fine folk provide alleviation to such. The game, as they say, is afoot. The next move is yours." He gestures to the manor around him. "Move about, explore! Find out how to remove this curse. But know this... we did not bring you here. No, your arrival was merely good fortune on our behalf."
He turns to answer Rakbura. "Not all of us are gifted with the Art. Etienne was the greatest of us all at such." Noting Brian's sudden raised eyebrow, he adds, "Yes, was. Etienne passed a long time ago, before we even left Glantri. He is buried on this estate."
"Who else lives here? Why, my family, of course. The magen were created to entertain and serve us, but let me see...there is my Aunt Catharine, my uncle Simon, my Aunt Marie-Hélène, my Uncle Guillaume, my sister Isabelle, and my cousins Claude, Coulette, Marie-Therèse, Antoine, Magdalene, Mère-Camille, Charles, Richard, Gaston, Isodore, and André-David." He counts on his fingers as he names them.
"There are also our hobgoblin servants, but you shouldn't mind them."
"Yes, well, death is just a transitory state of being. Where is Etienne's final resting place? Perhaps we should investigate there first."
"Do you know why Etienne would have cursed all of his family?" Savas asks before they depart. "Was he simply mad or did some act...or acts by members of the family drive him to do such a thing?"
Aletta senses the introduction has run its course. She retreats into the entrance hall and heads down the corridor leading from the double doors.
"I wonder what's behind door number two..."
Savas waits for the man's answer, but if none is forthcoming he will politely excuse himself and follow Aletta.
Nodding to Jean-Louis, Karhu silently takes his leave and follows the others to the next location.
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Jean-Louis merely spreads his arms and raises his eyebrows in response to the final questions. Back in the hall, the doorway that Aletta is examining appears to be both untrapped and unlocked. Beyond the door is a hall.
A long, wide hallway runs east-to-west here. In the center of the hall is a 10-foot wide red carpet stretching from the doors at either end of the corridor. The ceiling arches 40 feet high overhead. Near the east end of the hall, a raised catwalk stretches across the hallway 10 feet overhead; at either end of this overpass are double doors. Four sets of stairs connect to a balcony running along the perimeter of the room another 10 feet above the catwalk. Thousands of 1-inch-square mirrors are set into the ceiling and walls, making any lights in the area appear as myriad danging fireflies, shining in their glassy surfaces. The floor of the hall, where it is not covered with the red carpet, is white marble, polished to mirror-like reflection. Polished brass candelabras filled with unlit candles line both walls and crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. There are six doors along the length of the hall, four on the north side (the one nearest you is directly across from the double doors you are standing in) and two on the south side, and there is a single door at the far eastern end of the corridor. Numerous doors can also be seen along the length of the catwalk.
"Brilliant!" observes Aletta expectantly. She blows a kiss at the nearest candelabra to set the flame ablaze.
Aletta ventures forth into the room with mild trepidation, wary of the oddity of the expansive hall. She imagines Lord Asmodeus' bed chamber would be less impractical. Not that she imagines Lord Asmodeus' bed chamber.
Actually, she does, often. Like every night. Sometimes twice.
She stands roughly beneath the first hanging chandelier. It is just within her ability to bring it to life. She points a finger high and casts her little spell again.
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"Cooooool," Brian coos at the opulence of the enormous hallway. From the truly massive carpet, "Do you know how long it must have taken to make this carpet? Is it all one piece?" to the myriad tiny mirrors, the thing exudes wealth and power. "I just wanna put it all in my pocket and take it with me.
So, you guys wanna start barging in on doors in the North or the South first?"
"Hey Brian, do you know this little diddy?
"It's time to play the music,
"It's time to light the lights..."
While the others do what they do, Aletta continues down the long hall, lighting candelabras and chandeliers immediately in front of her as she goes. She draws her black iron long sword, just in case.
Savas chuckles as he recognizes Aletta's ancient tune. One he'd heard often enough in his youth.
Before he can recall hum the next line of lyrics, the monk is forced to shade his eyes and squint as the teifling adds to the growing illumination within the grand passage. With all of the mirrors and shining, polished surfaces reflecting the increasing candlelight back and forth upon itself, it was getting almost painfully bright.
"Let's start with the North." He answers Brian's query moving in that direction.
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"It's time to put on make-up, it's time to dress-up right,' Brian keeps whistling the familiar tune as he goes down the hall.
"I wonder if one of these leads to a false door. That would be dramatic wouldn't it?" On a lark he approaches one of the candelabras and pulls on it hard.
If nothing happens he goes to the North and starts listening at doors. But if breaks, well, then the day will get interesting indeed.
Karhu will immediately cast ‘Produce Flame’ to see if the fire in his palm gives off sufficient light for vision.
"Hmmmm...that's not good." Savas murmurs as he slides his staff free and listens for any sound that might indicate a door opening or the arrival of some other threat.
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The very second that Aletta, Karhu, and Brian cast their incantations, every light in the room suddenly flares to life! The light is reflected off the mirrors and every polished surface in the room in a blinding glare! Everyone is rendered blind! You do not know how long it will last, but you do know that it is not permanent. Everyone, please make a Wisdom save.
"Bah!" Is all Savas can say slamming his eyes closed against the sudden nova of light. But the brilliant red orbs floating in front of his closed eyes alerts him to being too late in doing so. Knowing now is likely the time something or someone will strike, he positions his staff defensively and listens again for any sign of trouble beyond the expected shouts of his comrades.
"In all the Hells!" Aletta curses, but she recovers quickly.
Rakbura slams his eyes shut and, shameless not in his fear but his knowledge of how little he can help himself or any others, he grabs Savas' tunic for a brief moment to remind himself where he is.
The contact with his friend as his friend stands stalwart before him grounds him literally and figuratively.
"Yes," Rakbura says sardonically. "Everyone else but you can see - I'm sure it will pass in but a moment!"