Abella taps her chin, opens her mouth as if about to speak, closes it again, points at the spot the apparition was just at, then speaks. ”Well how about that. I think that might have actually been Iosef. Huh. I’m going to say it’s about 37.5/62.5 in favor of that being the genuine article. Or as genuine as one could call a light-refracting, semi-real thanergy phenomenon.”
"At lest it didn't try to kill us." shrugs Tuco.
Phaed looks around, wondering where it went. Well let's look around, at least. She begins to search the room.
The objects on the mantel are all fairly mundane: statuettes of Asmodeus, ceremonial daggers, portraits of Abrogail I, but among the trinkets Shade notices a short spyglass with a glass eye on the end. It's the sight module for the brain cylinder!
Pavo spots an iron lockbox underneath the bed (locked).
But searching the room, Abella and Phaed discover a loose brick in the fireplace, and behind the brick they discover a small brass key.
The key fits the lockbox perfectly, which contains an ornate skeleton key, a red and black diplomat's badge, and a man's wedding ring.
Phaed moves on to the next room after fastening the cChelaxian Diplomat's badge to her outfit. Red and black always looked fiendishly good on me.
Well… no point in waiting. Let's move on to the next room. Hopefully the "master of the house" doesn't mind… She moves to the next door.
Opening the door in the master bedroom reveals a dusty washroom with a rotting curtain dividing the room, but nothing else of interest.
Returning to the hall, Pavo does not hear anything on the other side of the door, but it is locked.
"Always better to use the key. Leaves the lock in better shape, for the future owners." mumbles Shade
The skeleton key works perfectly.
A single bed sits in the corner of this room. Tangled sheets marred by ancient bloodstains lie in a heap on the floor.
The opposite corner features a half-sized fireplace; a freestanding dresser and a table with a chair fill out the room’s remaining furnishings.
Atop the table rests a shortbow, several arrows, and a taxidermy fox. Paintings of the woods and hunting scenes decorate the walls.
Pavo moves into the room to check under the bed, and both of the bedroom doors slam open violently!
From somewhere within the bedrooms, two ghostly teenagers cry out in pain!
Everyone must make a DC 24 Will Save, and then check the results below.
Success: The creature is sickened 1 by the pain.
Failure: The creature takes 2d8+9 mental damage and increases their malevolence value by 1.
Critical Failure: The creature takes 4d8+9 mental damage, is stunned 1 by the pain, and increases their malevolence value by 2.
A strange, house-like cage of solid ectoplasm springs up around Pavo! Pavo must make another DC 24 Will Save or be shackled, see below!
The target believes a miniature version of their childhood home has built up around them, locking them in place.
Critical Success: The target is unaffected and is temporarily immune to Shackled Memories for 24 hours.
Success: The target is flat-footed until the end of their next turn.
Failure: The target is flat-footed and immobilized until the end of their next turn.
Critical Failure: The target is restrained for 1 minute or until they Escape.
And then, a ghostly young hunter manifests in the room and takes aim at the prey trapped in his cage (AKA Pavo)!
piercing, plus 1d8 mental as Pavo imagines he’s bleeding to death!
Twins
Shade
Phaed
Abella
Pavo
Tuco
Abella hears the sound of ghostly teenagers calling out in pain and...rolls her eyes. "Oh please. Ghostly screams are so played out. You might get a jump scare out of it, but you need to build to it! I mean, if I scuttled away in fear every time I heard someone cry out in pain, I could hardly kill anyone, could I?" Even as she goes on one of her typical rambles, it is obvious that her face has taken on a more putrescent shade of green and she is trying to cover herself.
She starts trying to look through the "thanergy weave" for a weakness to exploit, but she ends up getting distracted. "How droll! The thanergy weave appears to be in a square knot here. Oh, I wish I had something to draw with!"
Tuco shakes his head as he focuses himself into his stance and moves away.
Shhhhhhhhh… it'll be okay… it's just a bad dream
Go back to sleep now…
Phaed is able to soothe the haunt, for now... But she an Tuco are feeling increasingly comfortable and at home in the manor.
The other bedroom, once you've recovered enough to check it out, is similar to the first aside from a few details.
Atop the table sits a scale model of Xarwin Manor, along with several sheets of paper and drawing instruments. Paintings of houses with striking architecture decorate the walls.
A quick search doesn't reveal anything of value in either room, but clearly terrible murders happened here.
After healing up, Phaed will suggest the opposite wing.
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Pavo prepares a questionable mental stimulant, which he imbibes, and performs a disturbing acupuncture technique to his forehead while the others search one of the other rooms. "Oh. Ow. Ah. Shade and I should return to the boy's room, later when we're good and ready to exorcise his poor soul."
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Shade says, "Have a seat, I'll get started on the healing."
He starts by healing Pavo.
He then heals Tuco.
And then Phaedria
"I think that covers it, or at least well enough for now." comments the healing cleric. "That sounds like a good idea, Pavo. Shouldn't let the poor child suffer any more than he already has."
He follows Pavo to the little boy's room, ready to help.
Pavo and Shade spend some time attempting to exorcise the bedrooms, but they get the sense that the malevolence in the house needs to be dealt with before the spirits can truly rest.
Crossing the balcony to the east wing, you find another hall with several doors, mirroring the one on the opposite side. A door at the far end appears to have been boarded up.
All is quiet.
Perhaps the other diir first.
Tuco nods and moves up to the door.
Pavo does not hear anything at the door, and so opens it.
This dusty room once served as a sculptor’s workshop, with cabinets and shelves along the wall storing a wide range of artisan’s tools.
A display case against the west wall holds a stand designed to display two axes, although it currently displays only a single red-handled hatchet.
A round table in the middle of the room and a workbench to the south appear to be where an unknown artist carried out the bulk of their work. A nearly completed carving of a bird still sits on the workbench.
A large number of wood blocks and stone slabs, raw materials for carving, are stacked to the southeast.
The fireplace to the east has a kiln-like oven built into it.
"Either way. We'll have to go in there at some time. I wonder why they have it boarded up?"
Phaed begins trying to locate the magic in the room.
Abella, be a dear and identify that hatchet? You're smart.
She, meanwhile, closely inspects the artwork. Is it any good?
Abella figures out it's a +1 hatchet. And you've seen it depicted in a portrait of Asethanna Xarwin...
Tuco heads over to investigate the building materials.
Tuco notices a two interesting things by examining the workbench.
First, the sculptor’s tools found here can be gathered together to form a set of sterling artisan’s tools for sculpture and woodcarving, and a superb repair kit.
Second, a woodblock carving of Pharasma here was never fully assembled, as though Asethanna, the artist, was interrupted and never returned to compete her work. Someone skilled in crafting could complete the sculpture though.
Pavo assembles the wood carvings into a statue of Desna sitting on her throne.
Phaed admires Tuco’s work. Well done.
She suggests the party move on to the next room down the hall... the one that isn’t boarded up perhaps.
You cross the hall and after listening at the door and hearing nothing, Pavo opens it.
Three shelves filled with books occupy the western half of this room, while to the east an iron spiral staircase descends to the floor below.
A long table surrounded by broken chairs sits before a tall brick fireplace, while a battered, partially destroyed wooden statue of a Pharasma stands on the wooden platform to the east.
Broken furniture and decorations, including several ruined paintings and a wheeled ladder once used to access books on higher shelves, lie scattered throughout the chamber.
Pavo and Shade recognize this room was once a chapel devoted to Pharasma, but everything within has been destroyed with the curious exception of the books...
Abella speaks with a completely flat-affect, almost mimicking one of those Numerian machines. ”Oh. No. Some one has destroyed the chapel. How horrible. How tragic. Pharasma weeps. Now how will we make people feel bad for studying thanergy constructs.” She immediately heads for the books.
Tuco nods "Good idea."
As the party enters the chapel, a skeletal, ghostlike woman suddenly appears and lets out a terrifying scream!
And then, pieces of broken furniture rise up to strike, as if the ghost has angrily thrown them!
A chair leg at Abella:
A picture frame at Pavo
A candlestick at Tuco:
A bookend at Phaed:
A paperweight at Shade:
???
Shade
Pavo
Phaed
Tuco
Abella
You add a flourish to your composition to extend its benefits. If your next action is to cast a cantrip composition with a duration of 1 round, attempt a Performance check. The DC is usually a standard-difficulty DC of a level equal to the highest-level target of your composition, but the GM can assign a different DC based on the circumstances. The effect depends on the result of your check.
Critical Success The composition lasts 4 rounds.
Success The composition lasts 3 rounds.
Failure The composition lasts 1 round, but you don't spend the Focus Point for casting this spell.
Phaed then raises her shield.
Tuco gets clocked by the candlestick but wastes no time flexing like a mountain as he moves behind for a good place to strike.
He hesitates for a moment in fear, but still swings.
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Pavo's wits escape him for a moment as the ephemeral witch appears and screams, which is just enough distraction for whatever poltergeist directs the inanimate objects in the room to clobber him with a picture frame.
He moves to flank the ghost between himself and Tuco and then gives his best effort to run her through.
+
"Holy crap! yells Shade as he is hit HARD by the paperweight.
He then casts a heal as a burst.
"Well, that feels a little better."
When Tuco moves in to attack her, the ghost reacts by sending another candlestick to strike him!
Pavo pierces the ghost, but it doesn't look like all of the damage went through, including the sneak attack.
Pavo recognizes this ghost as a poltergeist. They are weak against silver and naturally invisible.
??? -20 hp
Shade
Pavo
Phaed
Tuco
Abella