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Kka sees that it's a portrait of Azrinae and punches the sky in victory. "Gotcha!" She turns to Lough, but addresses his arm. "Yo, Borbo!" She holds up the image of Azrinae for the gem to see. "Is this really your old maaster? And all we haave to do is threaten to destroy it and he'll lose his cool?"
Kka slides the portrait into her backpack with the books before the ghost lady returns. "Given how nothing seems to staay dead down here, it wouldn't surprise me if we run into the old boy eventually. At least now we'll be better prepaared."
The next chance she gets, Kka goes to inspect the secret door to see how difficult it would be to get through. She does not open it.
"It sure would be nice to see whaat goodies are behind this secret door, but I caan't think of a way to do it without ticking off the ghost. Probaably best to let sleeping dogs lie and leave this plaace while we still caan."
Kka responds to Giyozara's exorcism suggestion. "Yeaaah... but no. Nice idea there Giyozara except thaat to send her off to Phaarasma, we not only haave to figure out whaat's keeping her here, but then kill her. In thaat order. It's the laast part I'm mainly worried about, but I caan't see how we figure out the first paart without killing her first. No, we need to get better equipment if we want to have any real chaance to kill her off even once, let alone twice."
"Hold on, you guys leave, I have an idea."
When the ghost comes back, Giyozara will continue to scribe (or pretend to, I think he actually has a bottle of ink). But when the ghost starts muttering again, he'll start agreeing with her.
"Yeah, he should just realize he's in love with you, make everything simpler." See if he can get a reaction out of her (while still scribing.) If she doesn't seem to respond to him, he'll leave next time she goes into the secret room.
"If it comes down to a fight," Cherry whispers quietly, "I have two Healing spells left. I could also deflect damage away from someone, but that damage comes to me so its just redirecting who needs healing, not stopping it."
After a pause Cherry kinda giggles "Oh, and I have one Blessing left, I almost forgot."
Kka shows Borbo the painting, and he agrees. "Yep! Master Azrinae loved looking at himself. Borbo's sure that if you threaten to rip it up, Master Azrinae will turn from a cool cucumber to a sour pickle real quick."
Kka looks at the secret door and finds out how to open it. There's a latch embedded in the door that you can pull.
Cherry Berry checks whether the chain shirt is magical, and indeed, it radiates magic.
Chandriu returns through the door and sees everyone is still present. She paces/floats back and forth as she oversees everyone's work. At Giyozara's comment, she sighs. "See, if even dumb scribes see it, why can't he? All he has for company is that idiotic goblin-" Lough's arm spasms as Borbo hears that comment, but Chandriu doesn't seem to notice. "And that laboratory is in dire need of a woman's touch. We have a long lifespan, but that doesn't mean I have forever until he agrees. I have needs too, you know?"
Her face grows darker. "Maybe I should be a little more... proactive. If that goblin were to disappear, my poor Volluk would be all by himself. I'm sure he'll come crawling to me for company soon after."
Lough's silver arm suddenly falls slack, as if Borbo's playing dead.
"Oh mistress, you'd know better than me, but, uh, if his assistant were to become . . . . disappeared, don't you think that would depress him, make him LESS in the mood for romantic overtures? Not because he'd care for the creature of course, just, like loosing a valuable tool.
"But listen, mistress, maybe you could play the long game. Start with small things, give him a sweet in passing, or maybe his favorite type of wine. Might take a few years, decades even. How long was it you say your immanence's splendid lifespan was? I'm sure it dwarfs mine at . . . . thousands of years maybe?"
The ghost scoffs. "Child, I've been playing the 'long game' for decades now. I've given him all the sweets he could ever want, but he just passes them on to that stupid goblin. I'm surprised that wretched creature hasn't died of a heart attack already. I live for a long time, yes, but I'm not immortal."
When Cherry mentions that the chainmail is magical , Kka's eyes light up. "Wow, really? I'm not leaving it behind then." When the coast is next clear, Kka pulls out her rope and ties one end of it securely to the armor. Holding the other end, she readies herself to exit the room.
Quitely Cherry points the armor out to Kvit. "The mail is magical, but I think you are better at identifying than I am."
”Well, maybe he doesn’t like sweets? Have you tried wine? Or meeting him ‘just as colleagues,’ for a fine meal? Absolom’s not too far away, I’m sure with a simple spell you could walk right in and have a fine evening. Why, Absolom’s so big there has to be a resteraunt for even the most refined pallet such as yours. Go in as colleagues, come out as something more, maybe?
“In fact, I have a friend of a friend, works at a fine dining place named Antonio’s, I’m told they do a passable impression of your people’s food. Little taste of home might warm him too you?”
Chandriu pauses. "What, Absalom? Nononono, that place is far too busy for my liking. I'm thinking more a candlelit dinner under an open night sky. The hustle and bustle will only distract us from finding true love."
"Ah, yes, well, a candlelit dinner might do the trick, just. . . don't try it in his . . . lair. I'm afraid the recent seasons have done a number on it. It's uh, seen better days. Actually the big fight in the main keep also collapsed sections of it I'm sorry to say."
"What has that goblin done this time? I swear, his only use is as a living test subject."
There's a slight crack in her voice.
While the ghost is distracted or out of the room, Kvit helps set up Kka's plan by clearing the stools or other debris out of the way.
As the ghost mentions her crush again, Kvit gets a sudden spark of inspiration. He gets close to the door and during the next window of opportunity suggests. "I have an idea. Now that we know what Volluk looks like, I could make an image of him and profess his love to her. That might settle her unfinished business?"
"Oh no, the Goblin did nothing. Did you not hear the explosion? I'm sure it must have shook the entire complex. Some do-good adventurers attacked Lady Belcorra if you can believe it. Their fight was so powerful, so epic that it collapsed the ceiling in several places. The floor gave out and collapsed into the first sub-basement. Crushed half the dormitories if you can believe it. You didn't hear any of that?"
"Y-yes, I vaguely recall a rumble," her voice is trembling now. "But that's so far above us, I thought it was just a minor earthquake. Lady Belcorra must be pissed that those adventurers collapsed part of the complex, though."
Giyozara’s voice becomes softer, trying to comfort the ghost as best he can.
”I am, I am afraid the rumor is that Belcora may have died in the fight. I’m. . . I of course didn’t see it, but. . . well, I’m afraid no one’s seen her since and it . . . Well it has been quite some time. And her plans to invade Absolom havn’t progressed since the fight. I’m. . . I’m sorry you have to hear it like this.”
Chandriu starts fuming. "Why haven't I been informed about this? We need to start looking for her! These books can wait; if Lady Belcorra is gone, all of this has been a huge waste of time!"
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"It is good to be alone" Lough finds himself piping up "I have always been alone, and I like it that way" still fumbling through his transcription. Then.
"Not always, fool!" it says
"Go away please" he pleads
"Go where, just now?" it taunts
"Please go away" doubling his plea
"Where you go, I go!" doubling it's taunt
Then addressing the third person in this conversation "May those you meet - this Lady Belcorra - always be with you no matter where you are!"
Kvit remembers he also knows a few things about the Roseguard.
"Listen, I hate to say it, but you're right, this -" He gestures broadly at the scriptorium- "- has all been a waste of time. And, well. Volluk has either abandoned his post or worse."
The ghost has been trying to keep cool during the conversation, but when you bring it back round to Volluk again, she freezes. "Oh gods, if that's all true, then what happened to Volluk? He's near the servant's quarters! I swear I saw him last week, but now that I think about it.... My memory's been kind of foggy lately. I need to check on him!"
She tries to fly out the room, but bonks her head against an invisible wall in the door opening. She throws her fists against it in an attempt to pass through, but it doesn't work.
"What's this? Why can't I leave? What have you done to me?"
She whirls around, looking at you with a combination of fear and anger in her eyes.
Looks like she's on the breaking point. A wrong answer could send her off the deep end...
'Be careful Giyozara,' Cherry whispers. 'This is the critical part.
Kvit tries to steel his resolve. This was his first real experience trying to interact with and overcome a ghost.
"We didn't do anything. Giyozara was trying to ease you into the reality that you also did not survive the explosion or the ensuing chaos afterwards."
He reaches out towards Kka and snaps his fingers both trying to be subtle and quick about it. Out of the corner of his mouth he whispers, "painting, painting"
Then speaking back to the ghost. "There's only one thing left to do and only one way to see your beloved Volluk again."
Kka has been nervously eyeing the door the entire time that Giyozara and the others have been intent on provoking the ghost lady into attacking them. She'd decided that pretending to be a Tengu statue was the best approach, but the contrapposto stance she was using had her leaning towards the door in case a quick getaway was required.
So when Kvit snaps his fingers and asks for the painting, Kka glances at him nervously. "Seriously!? She's going bonkers over Azrinae being missing and you want to show her a picture of her long-dead lover? Doesn't sound like a great idea to me."
Kka shrugs in resignation; she was expecting that they would soon be making a run for it, so if showing Chandriu the portrait sped up the process, then maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. What she didn't want to do is give up the painting. Having run into the undead Chandriu, she fully expected that they would eventually run into an undead Azrinae; that portrait would be invaluable when that time came.
So she slowly reaches into her backpack and pulls out the portrait so it is facing away from Chandriu until the last moment when she flips it around to show it to the ghost. With one hand gripped tightly on the portrait and the other one holding the end of her rope, she prepares to bolt.
"I'm sorry lady. I wish there was some way I could make this easier on you."" Giyozara seems genuinly sorry. "Listen, I know that if you were still alive things might . . . we might be on opposite sides, but no one deserves the life you led. Okay, maybe Belcora what with her plans to commit genocide, but not you. You deserved a shot at happyness, I'm sorry you never got it.
"Listen, I'm no expert, but maybe Volluk is in Pharasma's Boneyard . . . and even if he isn't there are plenty of your people there. And as I understand it, so long as you worshiped SOME god you get a chance at a new life someday. Maybe in the next go-around you'll be able to find your Volluk then. But . . . and again, I'm sorry you have to hear this, it's not goint to happen as you are now. You need to accept that this life was a bit of a downer and go ask Pharasma for another go-around. I . . . you don't seem to have been one to become undead intentionally so I don't think she'll hold it against you . . . you . . . just took a bit longer going home to her than you should have."
"So many people here seem to want to linger instead of properly moving on. I assure you, it isn't good for you at all."
Kka suddenly remembers that she knows a little something about ghosts. She backs up Giyozara. "Uh, yeah, that's the ticket! Your Volluk must have gone off to see Pharasma at The Boneyard and is now waiting in some paradise for you to join him for eternity. He's probably been pining away there for some time now, so it wouldn't do for you to keep him waiting any longer now, would it?"
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Chandriu falls silent as realisation of what happened to her dawns on her. She hangs stock still in midair, then looks around the room: the decrepit carrels, dried-up inkwells, the pantomimed transcribings. Then her eye falls on her own body, for the first time. She stares at it for a long time, not moving a single muscle. Then she yells out in anguish, and all the objects in the room start to tremble. She keeps yelling, far longer than regular human lungs would allow.
All the objects slowly rise into the air, then start to whirl around her as her psyche lashes out. At the realisation she's no longer alive, the realisation she's a ghost now, at the fact that she's never going to see Volluk again. All the pain and anguish of hundreds of years of being dead, pouring out at once.
She doesn't even seem to see you anymore, you're just caught up in a psychic tornado of books and scribing equipment. You get battered by books, but it doesn't seem intentional, you just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Flashes of Chandriu's life seem to manifest in the room, clearly visible for anyone: Chandriu endlessly trying to socialise with Volluk, Volluk being more interested in his research than her, Chandiu crying in her room and cursing him, Chandriu baking cakes and writing poetry for him, all with the same result. It's clear that Volluk isn't just not interested; he literally doesn't seem to notice her at times. His handsome face growing gaunt as he pores over books, his hair (and his lab) slowly getting disheveled while Chandriu looks on.
After a few minutes of non-stop screaming and destruction, the whirlwind dies down. As the ringing in your ears die down, you realise her cry has stopped as well, and there is no trace of her to be found. The furniture is completely trashed, but aside from several scuff marks, the books seem to be in surprisingly good condition.
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Everyone gets a Hero Point for good roleplaying!
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Unsure if it's "over", Lough remains seated, the diligent and obedient worker in him rooting his body into place a short while longer.
He looks at the pile of books on the ground that used to be on his "desk", and with reflexive automaticity, places them back into proper transcribing arrangements, then stares at the workspace a moment longer, before properly remembering himself.
Rising once more, he ponders Chandriu's plight with new chill rising into his spine: Am I a ghost?...
"Is everyone okay?" Cherry asks.
"Everyone speak up."
Kka gets knocked to the ground by a flying book. A little stunned, she tries to protect herself from further blows as she crawls towards the door to escape the debris tornado and piercing screams of the ghost. Before she manages to get out though, the screaming stops and the whirlwind dies down. Kka props herself against one of the bookshelves and catches her breath. "Well, that was a lot of fun. Is she gone for good or not? I'm guessing she's gone off to sulk somewhere for a while, so we better clean out her rooms before she comes back."
The Tengu rogue gets onto her hooves and puts Volluk's portrait back in her backpack before stripping Chandriu's skeleton of its magical chainmail. She looks it over for runes, but not being all that knowledgeable about them, hands it over to the smart ones. "Cherry said it was magical. Any idea in what way?"
After patching up her friends' bruises and searching the room for more valuables, she goes over to the secret door and opens it. "Let's see what our ghost lady is hiding back here."
Kvit dives to get under a desk as debris and books start to fly. Sneakers scrurries put of the room,. determined not to get caught in it.
Once things die down, Kvit pulls himself back to his feet and looks around. "Well, I, uh. I'm not sure that was the correct way to subdue a ghost, but it seems to have worked? Next time we get back to town I will check out the other three volumes of Foes and Phantoms. I suspect this won't be the last ghost we see."
As Kka inspects the secret door, Kvit looks around at the redistributed books for the particular titles Volluk was interested in. Some of what she said rings in his ears "...all of this has been a huge waste of time..." "I think we should try and piece together what use those books are. Sounds like maybe she was doing more than just copying a random selection of books."
"Well . . . that happened. . ." Giyozara comments.
"Hopefully any other ghosts we encounter will be . . . less crazy?"
Cherry shakes their head. "I believe most ghosts are...a little out of sorts. Who would chose to be a ghost after all?"
While looking through this room, Kvit finds a small iron key wedged under the skeleton. It's not the kind of key to open a door, it's more for a lockbox, showcase or something like that.
Kvit inspects the books Volluk specifically requested. They're incredibly complicated theoretical texts that you can't really get the gist of at a glance. You'll have to sit down for this for a while, you feel. [ooc]Let's say you need one day of downtime, and each extra day you spend will give you a bonus on your check (sort of like Earn Income). 8 hours to understand 3 books is still quick, I feel.
The armour on the skeleton is a +1 chain shirt.
Kka inspects the entrance to the secret room and enters it.
A worktable covered with blank scrolls and papers sits against the eastern wall of this room, while to the north stands a cabinet with several closed drawers.
The drawers are all locked, but the small iron key you just found opens it just fine. Inside is 2 Bulk worth of books on a variety of topics. Considering they were locked away, they must be worth something, Giyozara reckons.
While rifling through all the scrolls on the workdesk, you also find a contract of some kind. It's in a language none of you can understand.
When told what type of magical rune is on the armor, Kka sighs. "It's to baad Chandriu didn't go for leather armor. This chain shirt is way too heavy and noisy for me. I guess we'll deal with it once we get baack home." She stuffs it into her backpack.
Eyeing all the new books in the back room, Kka nods appreciatively. "If Morlibint'll paay us something for all these books, then it'll be worth returning with a caart and carrying them all baack to Otari with us." She pats her backpack with the three tomes that Volluk had specifically requested. "These should be enough to whet his appetite and see if he has any interest in the rest."
Finding the contract, Kka squints to try and make it out, but it's all Bhopalese to her. "Why do I think that this is one of those devilish contraacts we've been looking for? Either the Zebub's or more likely, thaat of the ugly bearded one we ran into on this level. Maybe someone in Otari can maake it out for us." She slides the contract into one of the books in her backpack for safe keeping.
Once they've convinced themselves that there's nothing more to be found in the ghost's quarters, Kka makes for the door back to the Restricted Collection. "It's probaably best if we're not here when the ghost laady comes back. I don't think we'll be as lucky the next time."
Kka reviews her mental map of the level. "How about we go see what's in the North wing?" Once they've made their way to the narrow northern corridor, Kka stops at the first door and looks it over.
Kvit tries skimming through some of the books Volluk was interested in but quickly closes the covers and starts rubbing his temples. "Ugh, that is some heavy reading. Its going to take some time to translate and figure these books out. If they're even relevant to our goals here." He bundles up several of them before following Kka into the secret room.
"I suspect you're right. That creature said their contract was in the library. This looks formal enough that it could be it. I've been working on learning a few more languages but haven't had much time to get beyond the basics."
Kvit doesn't want to stick around and find out if the ghost will be back either and follows Kka out to the next door.
"The cart does sound like a good idea, but can we get a cart through the swamp?"
"I do hope the ghost is gone though. Like I said, I don't think we've come across any undead that was truly happy with being undead...at least those that weren't power-crazy at least."
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"Big man do this - Big man do that - Big man Big man - BIG MAN!"
Lough's mind acts against him here, spurned by a deeper sense of dread which he cannot really fathom, only barely perceive. With his clawed hand, he caresses the soft chain, remarking "Well made" before taking a moment to don the suit of armor.
"There - I feel "littler" now - maybe they will... bah, what's the use?"
Stretching his limbs in the new mail, our paranoid hero discovers it's enchantment makes it stronger, but, offering of lesser protection none-the-less - he redons his own armor, and hands the well-made chain shirt to Giyozara "Maybe I can show you how to wear this when we get back to town..."
"Big man do this - Big man do that - Big man Big man - BIG MAN!"
Lough's mind acts against him here, spurned by a deeper sense of dread which he cannot really fathom, only barely perceive. With his clawed hand, he caresses the soft chain, remarking "Well made" before taking a moment to don the suit of armor.
"There - I feel "littler" now - maybe they will... bah, what's the use?"
Stretching his limbs in the new mail, our paranoid hero discovers it's enchantment makes it stronger, but, offering of lesser protection none-the-less - he redons his own armor, and hands the well-made chain shirt to Giyozara "Maybe I can show you how to wear this when we get back to town..."
"Thanks, but I think I prefer to be in robes. Y'know, like monks."
"I considered training in the armor myself," Cherry says, "But I decided that the training could interfere with my duties to nature."
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Shrugging at his comrades' disinterest in protecting themselves, it is with some reluctance that he dumps the shiny armor into the cart to come back for later...
...and jumps back to the front of the line, where invariably, except in instances that Kka's impulsive twitch coupled with awful luck place her into sudden danger, he braces for the next trouble in this Lamashtu-awful dungeon, ready to take it in the face...
"Big man..." a little voice teases.
"Go away..."
Clenching his mechanical fist in frustration!
Kka checks the door and finds no traps, but concludes that it is locked.
You either pick the lock or smash in the door.
Shelves line the walls, while what appears to be a partially completed—or perhaps partially ruined—sculpture of a sprawling city sits atop a five‑foot‑diameter circular table. A terrifyingly life-like wooden statue of what you presume is Belcorra scowls at you from across the room.
Kka, her weapons in hand, enters the room behind Lough. She examines the terrifyingly life-like wooden statue. "How maany staatues of Belcorra are down here? She must haave been quite the vain one."
Fully expecting the effigy to come to life at any moment, Kka keeps her distance. If the statue remains immobile, she says, "I guess it's chopping time. Anyone bring an axe?"
Indeed, as soon as Lough and Kka enter the room, the statue springs to life.
Kka
Cherry Berry
Lough
Belcorra
Giyozara
Kvit
Kka, Cherry Berry, and Lough are up!
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"Zoiks!"
A psychokinetic reflex triggers as our paranoid hero, mind turning over itself, finds his sympathetic nervous system activating a latent defense - the spider in his throat tickling him - he raises his shield to brace himself as the statue invariably comes close, securing the area around him.
◆) Raise Shield
◆◆) Cast Telekinetic Projectile
+
↺) Attack of Opportunity
↺) Shield Block
~) Whichever triggers first