Not particularly impressed by the statues' declarations, Aurora conjures the blessing of her dark goddess over the group. Onye also isn't especially impressed, though he does warn the group that gargoyles can be formidable given their resistance to non-magical weapons.
While the amurrun ponders how to proceed, Data raises his bow and takes aim at Red. His shot flies true and strikes Red...but just as Onye had warned, the creature seems to completely resist the arrow's effects.
______________
Data
Felix
Aurora
Demm
Onye
Phantom
==============
Red
Blue
==============
Djahan
Active Conditions: Bless
Environmental Conditions: None
Felix, Demm, Onye and Djahan’s Fractured Mind are UP!
The small phantom shows it’s tongue to the blue gargoyle.
”You are so stoned!!!!!“
As Onye and Felix ready themselves to attack should either gargoyle come within reach, Djahan's YFM directs a ridiculous but strangely compelling insult at Blue...which snarls angrily in response! Meanwhile Demm blasts Red with a barrage of magical missiles; as he does so he notes that there doesn't seem to be any resistance to his spell.
Blue suddenly descends, swooping in towards Djahan's YFM with an angry cry of, "You aren't as funny as you think you are, fool!" which opens him up to Onye's readied strike. The amurrun easily carves away a small chunk of stone-colored flesh from the gargoyle as it moves in to try and strike at the phantom!
Red also comes swooping down, eyes on focused on Onye. Onye reacts with surprising speed, attempting to strike the second gargoyle as it moves in to engage him in combat, but misses. Felix is also ready and drives his spear deeply into Red's stomach even as it slashes at Onye with sharp claws!
Blue's anger-fueled swipe at Djahan's YFM passes harmlessly over the phantom's head while Red opens up a few superficial slashes on Onye.
______________
Data
Felix
Aurora
Demm
Onye
Phantom
==============
Red
Blue
==============
Djahan
Active Conditions: Bless
Environmental Conditions: None
Djahan is UP at the bottom of Round 1 and everyone else is UP at the top of Round 2!
While Aurora waits to see if her companions can perhaps handle the gargoyles themselves, Onye steps up and opens up another terrible gash on Red, leaving it terribly wounded!
______________
Data
Felix
Aurora
Demm
Onye
Phantom
==============
Red
Blue
==============
Djahan
Active Conditions: Bless
Environmental Conditions: None
Djahan is UP at the bottom of Round 1 and Data, Felix, Aurora, Demm, DYFM are UP at the top of Round 2!
The small incorporeal phantom moves to the other stone being and again shows it’s tongue to the red gargoyle.
”I have scissors and paper and they BOTH smash stone!! Ugly thing!!!“
Djahan steps up and brings both his sword and his teeth to bear against the Red Gargoyle but though both attacks do hit their mark, the creature's natural resistance completely rebuffs his efforts. Djhana's YFM fares better as it now focuses on Red and antagonizes the creature, drawing its ire!
Taking advantage of Red's proximity Felix makes use of both ends of his longspear, first attempting to drive the tip into the creature's belly - which the creature avoids - and then managing to crack it over the head with the butt end!
Realizing that his arrows are, at this point, likely to be ineffective Data stows his bow and draws out a healing wand, ready to act as medic.
Demm unleashes a volley of missiles; the first strikes Red and finally finishes the injured gargoyle off, leaving the second one to burn a small hole into Blue. Aurora tries to use her magic to strike fear into the remaining gargoyle's dark heart but the creature seems to shrug it off! But Blue does seem to recognize that he's in a bit of a jam as he takes another swipe at Onye before trying to ascend into the air again. Aware of the amurrun's extended reach with his weapon, the gargoyle attempts to dodge any retaliatory swipes but isn't quite agile enough.
______________
Data
Felix
Aurora
Demm
Onye
Phantom
==============
Blue
==============
Djahan
Active Conditions: Bless
Environmental Conditions: None
Djahan is UP at the bottom of Round 2 and everyone else is UP at the top of Round 3!
The small phantom moves and concentrates to show its uncanny aura to the other stone creature!!
”Fear my little body!!! Ohhhhoooo stone man!!!“
Onye's swipe at the gargoyle as it ascends into the air misses; however, Aurora is quick to utter an incantation and demand that the gargoyle come back and fight like a...real...gargoyle?
With no good way to reach the gargoyle as it hovers overheard , Onye and Djahan simply move closer and ready themselves to strike should it descend close enough. Demm and Felix wait to see what happens, sticking close to Aurora. Djahan's YFM utters a haunting cry as he stares up at the gargoyle, which seems to actually leave the creature shook.
"Leave? No one, even us, leaves this place except through death..." the gargoyle hisses, a conflicted expression on its face as it starts to fly back towards Aurora. As it swoops in low, Onye times his strike just right and cleanly slices the gargoyle's head off as it passes by him!
The threat ended, an eerie silence falls over the manor, with only the sounds of your breathing and the raging storm outside to be heard.
After a few tense moments, waiting to see if anyone or anything else emerges, you can finally relax a little bit and get a better sense of your immediate surroundings. From where they stand, Onye and Djahan can see into the chamber to the northwest. A scuffed hardwood floor dominates this large recessed chamber. At the room's far end, a large harp and piano sit neglected, suggesting this room once provided revelry.
Meanwhile, Djahan's YFM glances over to the east, where stone fireplaces flank an oval table surrounded by upholstered chairs. A large mural on the eastern wall depicts the founding members of the Kastner family wearing robes and standing around an open black double door. Eldritch light floods out of the painted door, casting the staring faces in a sinister glow.
|
"Normally I'd be all for finding some food but I can't help agreeing with Onye. I'm a little worried we might find the remnants of those devils' past feasts... A sight that would likely ruin the heartiest of appetites."
Nevertheless, he follows with the group. The entirety of the Manor needs to be explored, after all, grisly remains or no!
Resolved to continue on, you begin to spread out - though only a little bit - to further examine your surroundings. Djahan scans around for magical auras but doesn't detect anything and Data keeps a watchful eye out for anything strange or dangerous.
Onye circles around the stairs to see an open-concept sitting room just ahead, which appears to have been used more recently than other, less comfortable portions of the manor. An ornate fireplace, plush chairs, and thick rugs offer the veneer of comfort within the otherwise cold building. Two doors exit the room, one to the west and the other to the east, while a window is set into the northern wall.
Though Onye suggests perhaps heading up the stairs first, with Felix in agreement, both Aurora and Demm tad-draguni are insistent that finding the kitchen is higher priority. Aurora heads to the door immediately south of the dining room and studies it; while she doesn't hear anything from the other side of it she's almost positive that the kitchen does lie beyond!
After gathering at the door, and Djahan sending his phantom to see what lies on the other side, the YFM pops back out to confirm that you've found the manor's kitchen. Upon opening the door you can see that it's a rather large kitchen, with an attached sunken cold room that holds slowly decaying foodstuffs. A stone oven squats in the southern half of the room. Near the oven, a dark well provides the manor's fresh water. Wooden counters, tables, and barrels make up the rest of the kitchen’s contents.
|
"Yes! We're in!" Aurora licks her lips and sets about searching for edibles.
"There's got to be some dried meat somewhere. Smoked fish maybe. Do you surface-dwellers realise what an amazing invention smoked fish is? Smoked food in general really. We don't get much smoke under the sea."
Aurora roots around, praying to the Divine Princess for a morsel of something to turn up.
Though perhaps only Aurora is truly happy to have found the kitchen, Data and Demm join her in looking around the place more closely. Sadly, there aren't any magical auras to be found here - and thus, there are no magically-preserved foodstuffs to be had.
The well, on the other hand, turns out to be a little more interesting. Upon peering in, you can see that the circular walls of the well descend for about 10 feet before ending above what appears to be an underground body of water. A faint flicker of light can be seen from somewhere beyond.
|
|
"Oh, what's that? Shall I go see?"
"Lower a rope in case you need to haul me back out in a hurry. I'll go for a little swim. Maybe there are live fish down there."
Once a rope is prepared, Aurora lights up her wayfinder and dives over the edge of the well. As soon as she hits water, her land-legs revert to a mer-tail and she goes looking for the source of the light. And any unsuspecting fish.
Feeling incredibly brave, Aurora volunteers to go see what's at the bottom of the well. Once a rope is securely tied Aurora turns on her wayfinder and hops over the side, falling 10 feet before splashing into the pool of water below. As she hits the water she reverts back to her natural form and looks around, trying to get her bearings.
This 10-foot-deep circular chamber holds fresh spring water, which rises to just under the height of the floor. A hole in the ceiling allows a bucket to descend into the clear waters before being hauled back to the kitchen above. Luckily, there appears to be a ladder along the western wall that can be used to exit the cistern, if necessary. A torch flickers on the wall above the ladder, the source of the light you observed from above.
Near the bottom of the cistern you notice an underwater culvert that disappears north, into darkness.
|
|
"There's a very disappointing absence of fish down here" Aurora calls up to the others. "But I do see a passageway leading out of the well. It's a dry passage with a ladder up to it, and there's a lit torch."
Aurora casts Detect Magic to see if the torch is the "Everburning" variety or mundane.
While Aurora waits to see what the rest of you think of this new development, she scans around a bit for any magical auras, paying the nearby torch special attention. And it does indeed radiate an aura of magic, as she halfway expected it might.
|
|
"As you like" Aurora says. Dipping under the water for a moment longer just to enjoy the sensation of it, she resurfaces by the rope. "Haul me up then."
As the mermaid is lifted out of the water, her tail is once again replaced by land-legs.
"The torch was magical by the way, so it could have been placed there ages ago."
Though you've certainly found a way into the manor's basement, it's quickly agreed that finishing out your search of things topside is the best approach to take. You haul Aurora back up the rope and contemplate where to head to next.
______________
Made you look!
Deciding to take a thorough approach to the rest of the floor you turn your sights to the door immediately across from the kitchen. Djahan sends his phantom in to have a look around and after a few seconds the impish creature pokes his head back through door.
"Nothing but books in here! Booooooring."
With the declaration that the room ahead is safe, you all carefully open the door and begin to file inside. Esoteric books cram the shelves of two long bookcases. The shelves flank a desk whose surface is buried beneath dossiers, receipts, bureaucratic seals, and other symbols of office. A spiral staircase on the eastern wall rises to a second level.