You decide to leave the mitflits to their own devices and head down the sets of stairs until you reach unfamiliar territory.
This large, cross‑shaped chamber contains several long couches, the leather cushions that once adorned them cracked with age. Dead plants lie slumped in planter boxes along the walls, and a long‑dry fountain depicting a lighthouse stands in the middle of the room.
As you step into the room, a voice from behind a sofa speaks.
"Hello visitors," the being rasps in a dry voice, "do you promise not to hurt me when I reveal myself? I swear I have no intention of harming you, despite my, ah.... condition."
You decide to leave the mitflits to their own devices and head down the sets of stairs until you reach unfamiliar territory.
When she hears the dry raspy voice coming from behind the furniture, Kka tightens her grip on her shortsword and peers into the darkness to try and figure out exactly where in the room the owner of the voice is hidden.
"As long as you don't try any funny business, we've got no quarrel with you. Why don't you come on out so we caan get a better look at you. Are you the one that Graulgust exiled? The one he called He Who We Do Not Speak Of?"
"I promise as long as you are peaceful, I swear on Old Deadeye."
Kka can't really place where the sound originates from. But, after Cherry Berry has spoken, the being reveals itself. It looks like a morlock that's been dead for a while, with some bits of flesh fallen off and rotting in several places. He slowly appears from behind a chair and clearly tries to make no sudden movements.
"My name is Augrael. If you've come all the way here, you've undoubtedly met my brethren. King Graulgust exiled me down here after I contracted ghoul fever in the fight upward, and left me to my own devices. And the ghouls of this level say I'm an 'abomination,' and don't accept me either. So now I'm an exile of two peoples, belonging in neither place."
He kicks at a rock in frustration, then continues.
"As I said, I have no intention of harming you. I've managed to survive by eating undead flesh. I know I can't return to the side of the living. I just want to live the rest of my miserable unlife by myself. If you want to pass through here, be careful of the ghouls ahead. I don't think they'd be happy to see you."
He slinks back into the shadows, allowing you to pass.
Kka slowly enters the room keeping her sword at the ready and not taking her eyes off the ghoul.
Kka takes a close look at the morlock ghoul. "Let's see if this guy's for real." "You're lucky we didn't run into you upstairs or we would've slaughtered you just like we did Graaulgust and the rest of your old morlock friends." She waits to see if her news provokes Augrael into attacking her.
Some of the tension leaves her body as Kka relaxes slightly. "You caan leave this plaace now if you like. There's no one upstairs to stop you anymore. I should tell you thaat we're going to destroy every ghoul, um... other ghoul we come across on this level. We hear they're working on some foul necromaantic plot to revive someone down here. You know anything about thaat?"
"You don't mind if I haave a look around, do you?" Her question is rhetorical and she proceeds to do a thorough search of the room.
Augrael shrugs as he hears you killed his clan. "They're dead? I guess I do feel a twinge of sadness for them, but they did exile me. I understand why, but it still hurts."
He is quiet for a moment.
"Why would I leave? Living society doesn't want me, and I don't feel like I belong with them either, he snarls. "I may be undead, but I still have standards. I don't know anything about their plans, they kicked me out as soon as I poked my head in there. Just let me rot away here, where I belong."
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"Lough can turn you into an arm, if you want."
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Lough lifts his Borbo arm towards "Augrael - tell you what: . You leave us alone, we'll leave you alone"
He looks around the room, feeling Kka's eyes on his neck "One more thing: When I say 'we', I also mean out mitflit friends on the uppermost level - they are included in our truce - if they are indeed still alive!"
"What do you say?" there the sound of oil on metallic silver as Lough walks towards the precipice of there the shadows begin, halts, and gently holds the dynamo aloft, ready to seal the deal with the gesture!
Kka laughs. "<Ark ark> A murder doll for one arm and a morlock ghoul for the other; now thaat's what I call living dangerously."
Turning to Augrael she says, "It's no skin off my beak whaatever you decide. As long as you keep out of our way down here you caan do whaatever you like. If you feel at all hungry later, you might waant to follow after us; there's bound to be plenty of freshly dead undead for you to snaack on. <Ark ark>" "And with a little luck, none of the corpses will be ours."
After she finishes searching the room she heads over to the other door and gives it the once over.
Cherry frowns a bit at the undead as they reveal themselves. Erastile doesn't specifically condemn undead, but Augrael doesn't seem to be enjoying their (un)life.
"Mr. Augrael, are you sure you want to continue on like this?
Augrael eyes Lough, but then comes closer and shakes his hand, careful to not touch any of Lough's skin with his own claws.
"Fine by me. Wasn't inclined to do so anyway."
You get the feeling your attempt at sweet-talking didn't exactly succeed, but the guy seems honest in his promise to not harm any living beings.
Cherry frowns a bit at the undead as they reveal themselves. Erastile doesn't specifically condemn undead, but Augrael doesn't seem to be enjoying their (un)life.
"Mr. Augrael, are you sure you want to continue on like this?
Augrael is taken aback by that question. "Well... I don't know. I agree that this isn't much of a life, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for what comes next. Besides... Doesn't being undead kind of condemn my soul or something?"
He scratches at his head. Several chunks of rotting flesh fall off. Augrael stares at them wistfully.
Kvit stays warily away from the ghoul as Kka and Lough seem to play a sort of good-constable bad-constable with the ghoul.
"Not sure I'd trust an undead at all, Kka, but we aren't technically on an anti-undead crusade."
He stays on the other side of the room while taking a look around.
Augrael is taken aback by that question. "Well... I don't know. I agree that this isn't much of a life, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for what comes next. Besides... Doesn't being undead kind of condemn my soul or something?"
”I’m not entirely sure. I’m not very religious, but your soul should mostly be intact, so whenever you get to pharasma’s boneyard you have an intact soul, so that’s probably good. Since you didn’t do it by choice, I think you are fine. Pharasma will still accept you into her boneyard when you get there. Probably. Maybe double check with Cherry.”
Kka inspects the door and Kvit and Sneakers comb through the room once more. They find nothing of interest.
After checking the door, Kka stands aside to let Lough take the lead. "I'm right behind you big maan. Based on the maap Graaulgust gave us, looks like this door leads to a hallway, so probaably no bad guys yet. Still, I wouldn't trust that slimeball not to haave given us a bogus map, so it caan't hurt to expect the worst."
Kka frowns slightly when she overhears Cherry and Giyozara talking to Augrael about his soul. Though a somewhat casual follower of Calistria and her vindictive ways (her fervor generally increasing with proximity to death), she was no slouch when it came to religious matters in general. Nevertheless, this talk of souls and trips to the Boneyard was giving her a strong sense of déjà-vu, though she couldn't figure out why.
"I think you're right Giyozara; Phaarasma'll be more than haappy to take in his soul. In faact, I can almost hear her foot taapping impatiently as she wonders what's taaking him so long to get there. From whaat I hear, she doesn't like to be kept waiting once you kick the bucket. <Ark ark> And since he didn't exaactly choose to become a ghoul, I doubt she'll hold it against him come judgement time."
"Well it's my understanding that Pharasma is offended by the creation of undead, not the being of undead. At the same time she encourages people to put bodies to rest."
Cherry gets out their holy symbol, a little wooden plaque with the symbol of a bow carved into it. "I know that Erastil wouldn't want you be denied peace, at least as long as your duties are all complete."
Augrael mulls Cherry Berry's words over for a bit. Finally, he says, "I'm not sure. I don't think I'm ready yet to go, but thanks for your kind words. I wish you good luck with whatever you're doing down here. And hey, if you get turned into a ghoul, maybe we can hang out together," he adds with a wry smile.
"Huh, what a nice ghoul. You learn something new everyday."
Kvit seems less concerned and now more dismissive of the Morlock/ghoul.
"Alright, then I guess now that's settled. Let's get moving to the next danger."
Kka taps her hoof impatiently at the northern door. "It's settled as far as I'm concerned, so what's the hold-up? Time to move on before the ghouls die of old age. <Ark, ark>"
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The door slams open in Kka's face and she takes 1 damage.
The door opens up to a long narrow hallway, with a door to either side and at the end of the hallway.
The door slams open in Kka's face and she takes 1 damage.
Kka ducks into the hallway and carefully makes her way up to the first pair of doors, which she then checks over carefully.
An ancient sofa with its covering torn open and its stuffing and springs revealed sits against the west wall of this room.
As soon as Lough opens the door, Lough and Kka's neck hairs/feathers stand up straight and they get the feeling they're being watched. After a few moments, an eerie red eye opens up on the wall behind the sofa. It stares at you unblinkingly.
Kvit tries to look past the tall ones. "What eye?!"
The red eye is indifferent to Lough's request.
Kvit looks into the room and his neck-hairs also rise.
All three of you still have the feeling of being spied upon, despite the eye staring across the room.
Ah, forgot to take exploration tactics into account.
Kka notices two secret doors in the north and south walls next to the sofa, and a small peephole into another room right underneath the glowing red eye.
Giyozara notices traces of magic hanging around in the room.
”Magic shenanigans in that room. Usually traps go to the effort of hiding their Mai fix, so maybe it’s a haunt?”
Kka can't see into the room with Lough in the way, so can't tell who he's talking too. "Whaat do you mean by eye Lough?" But before he can answer, she pokes her head around the door and recoils slightly when she sees the red eye and her neck feathers rise in response to the feeling of being watched. "Whoa! I see whaat you mean. That's just downright spooky."
She looks around the room and quickly spots the two secret doors and the peephole. "Secret doors to the right and left and a peephole under the eye. Whaat do you think? This smells of another traap to me." Kka thinks back to the diorama room and shudders inwardly. "If it's another of Belcorra's little welcome gifts like the dioraamas upstairs, then going into thaat room without turning off that eye is probably a real baad idea."
Kka ducks her head back around the corner and sheathes her shortsword. She then pulls out an arrow and nocks it to her bow. "Lough, I'm going to need you to step away from thaat open doorway to give me some room to work."
Kka then Steps slowly into the square in front of the door; takes aim and fires; then immediately Steps back to the side and out of the eye's line of sight.
Lough can't recall anything in particular about eyes in walls. It's probably some kind of magic effect. That suspicion is confirmed when Kka shoots an arrow at it and the eye does not react. There's now an arrow sticking straight from the iris of the eye, but nothing else animates or tries to punish Kka for her action.
After releasing her arrow, Kka ducks back out of the way and waits for whatever fireworks erupt from the eye. When all remains quiet, she pokes her head around the corner to see what's going on. All she sees is her arrow sticking straight from the iris of the eye. "Not a baad shot if I do say so myself. Now whaat?"
After a little more thought, she shrugs. "Doesn't look like we're going to learn anything more staanding around out here. I'm going in for a closer look."
Kka puts her bow away and takes her shortsword in hand. She then moves into the room and up to the eye for a closer look. She suspects that it is some sort of mechanism; perhaps a camera of some sort. She's looking for some way to disable it; to turn off the glow or close the eye permanently.
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"Mother of Monsters!" Lough curses "You'd think getting shot in the Eye would provoke a reaction, wouldn't you?" to himself, or to Kka, or the next friend, or to nobody in particular.
Seeing Kka press into the room, he gaffs "You sure it's safe..." and before you know it he is following the suicidal rogue into the creeper room, shield raised!
"Here Lough, just in case." Cherry reaches out and casts Guidance on Lough just before he enters the room.
Kvit shakes his head at the two. "Traps aren't usually so obvious. It's probably just a decoration or a spying device."
He walks in casually behind Lough and Kka. "What do you think Giyozara?"
Before Gyozara has a chance to react however, the eye starts burning brightly, and Kka and Lough feel the eye burning a hole into their minds.
Kka
Lough
Kvit
Cherry Berry
Eye
Giyozara
An overwhelming sense of paranoia fills Kka's and Lough's minds. Please both make me a DC 25 Will save. Lough can also use the Guidance if he wants.
Kka, Lough, Kvit, and Cherry Berry may act! Lough still has a Guidance you can also use on your Will save.
To identify what's going on, you can roll a DC 19 Occultism or Religion check.
Kvit tries to process what's happening.
"I- I'm not quite sure what this is. Let's just back out of the room quickly"
As Kka approaches the glowing eye, she feels a sharp pain in her head as if something were trying to push a burning poker into her brain. With her free hand she grabs her forehead to try and ease the pressure. "<Arrrggghhhhkkk!>" Half-blinded in her agony, Kka swings her sword around wildly to ward off the attackers she's sure are about to pounce on her. She only barely misses slicing Lough open in her extreme agitation.
The initial pulse of pain and fear subside to the point that Lough no longer looks like he's intent on harming her. But Kka's eyes remain wide open with apprehension and continue to dart all over the room looking nervously for potential enemies to appear.
"What's going on! This isn't me. It usually takes more than a glowy red eye to turn me to jelly like this. The eye! It's got to be the eye that's doing this to us." She turns back to the eye and leans in for a better look.
She'd been right! It was a trap. Some sort of fear-based haunt. "It's the eye thaat's doing this. It's a haunt. Either pretend you're not scared or staart praaying!"
She then straightens up and tries to force her eyes back to their normal size...
...but her acting skills fail her as the fear returns. "Uh guys? Ca-arry on without me for a minute. I need to ta-ake a quick breather."
Kka darts back out of the room and around the corner. She leans against the wall, takes deep breaths and tries to pull herself together.
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Lough eyes his "friends" suspiciously - hwo long had he really known these people? Were they even from Otari? Their initial meeting crawls back into his mind - it was Kvit whom he had met first. The terrible thought, he forces it to the back of the deepest recesses of his troubled mind...
◆◆◆) Disable Haunt x3
Kvit hears Kka's instructions as she bolts past and puts on a brave face. "Where ya going Kka? It's just an eye."
Lough gives the eye the stink-eye, but his nerves are too shot to focus properly. Luckily, Kvit's cold stare angers the eye and it focuses on the ysoki. It burns brighter and brighter as it tries to intimidate Kvit into submission, but eventually burns itself out and disappears.
Combat over!
Gyozara still detects magic in the room, so the haunt is merely dormant, but it looks like it won't bother you for a while.
Lough is still paranoid for a few moments, but eventually returns to his regular level of paranoid-ness.
Kka shakes off the last of her fear and pokes her head back around the corner. Seeing that the eye is no longer glowing, she lets out a breath of relief and reenters the room. "Good job guys. We better keep moving though. You never know when that eye might wake up again. I'm guessing it does more thaan just scare people, but I'm not in a hurry to find out whaat that is."
Kka searches the room and tries to look through the peephole to see what she can see. She then moves to the secret doors and checks them for traps and locks.
"Do you need healing Kka? That seemed to happen really fast."
Kka waves Cherry off as she works on the secret doors. "Nah. Thanks Cherry, but I think I'm good. Once the weird eye went out, everything went baack to normal. Except for that bump on the beak I got at the first door, there's no damage done."