The scarred witch doctor looks up from pouring over tomes, scrolls, napkins all spread across the desk he is seated at. The Mask-wearing 1/2 orc grins at Lilitu Deskara.
Audi ibn Jad. The Ancestors say that you shall be useful. Good. We have quite the party planned.
A red skinned black horned woman bows slightly. She looks at each of them in turn then turns her gaze at Jacinda who she sees as the leader. "So what do we call you when we don't know which person we're talking to?" She then looks up then says "Yes Father, I'll tell them." Returning her gaze at Jacinda "Father says he thinks it'll be fun working for him with you all. My name is Lilitu Deskara. The first name means "of the night". Me and Father have a close relationship. I am his ever devoted servant."
A very large orc shifts to look at the newcomers as they enter. he looks to be a combination of fat and muscle as black eyes gaze out from a face with prominent sharp teeth.
There also seems to be an oder coming from him..
Augier. He grunts. I'm the head smasher of the group.
"You choose the one you prefer to spend time with, of course." she purrs, staring directly in Lilitu's eyes. Then she quickly turns away blushing.
"My, my aren't you sweet. I'll have to spend more time with this one."She looks at the young girl and blushed herself. Lilitu quickly snaps out of her revelry "But for now the rest of the group. Do you all serve Father Asmodeus?"
“Have you enjoyed your gifts? The iron circlets allow you to move amongst your enemies as one of them. The silver amulets will remind you of your true loyalties. And the other items – well, you need them now.
“You have done well to escape from Branderscar and to accept my offer. However, you are still not ready for my service. Tiadora will lead you to the basement of this domicile. There you will find nine chambers each more dangerous than the last. Somewhere hidden within these chambers is a pendant of silver and sapphire. Recover the pendant and bring it to me. Let nothing and no one stand in your way.”
He stands up and looks out of the manor house window across the grey moor. “It’s almost dusk. You have until dusk tomorrow to bring me my prize. Do not fail me.”
Cardinal Thorn takes a seat at his desk. Tiadora arrives right on cue. “This way,” is all she says.
Standing next to the Tiefling was a tall raven haired woman with a crooked smile, despite multiple bruises and wearing what appeared to be a scorched lab coat she looked somewhere between cute and stunning. She seemed pleased with this turn of events and was carrying a pair of bottles labelled 'Drink Me'.
She smiled sweetly to the assembled group as she told them proudly, "I'm Clarissa and I'm a very naughty girl, the judge told me so! So much so they wanted to hang draw and quarter me! Fah! Lets see who has the last laugh..."
"Have you enjoyed your gifts?"
She bowed slightly, "Greatly your eminence. I'm sorry I may have made a mess in the lab, but I've mixed some rather special cocktails for the party. Alas I've forgotten the recipe for brewed reek, ah well another time..."
"Let nothing and no one stand in your way."
Clarissa nodded with a sweet malevolent smile, this was going to be fun!
The hideously scarred 1/2 orc bows his Masked-covered head at Clarissa, as the obvious alchemists announces her bringing the cocktails.
Cocking his head a bit to his left, the scarred witch doctor appears to be listening to someone, but there doesn't seem to be anyone there. Nodding and grinning, the Witch winks at Lilitu.
The Ancestors seem to think that you may be a bit early on that assumption.
He laughs.
Turning his attention to the Cardinal's pronouncement, Audi ibn Jad bows in acceptance.
The 1/2 orc peers intently at the Cardinal, during his speech.
Lilitu hefts her longspear and prepares to follow the Cardinals servant. She looks at the strange woman and asks "So miss, are you bound to service like us, or do you serve with free will? Also what is your name?"
Augier listen to their patron's words and nods. Best we get movingfollows the woman who sprung them from Brandonscar. then. He hefts his pack onto his shoulders and
Clarissa smiles sweetly as she follows Tiadora, it didn't matter what happened in this trial it couldn't be worse than being hung drawn and quartered!
After the orc had spoken she nodded, "Let us see what trials await, and crush them."
As the others make their introductions, Wiktor shifts and fidgets before making his own;
"Wiktor. Of Gattleton. They named me Ghoul of Gattleton as Wiktor dug up bodies... then ate them."
The whip thin wretch's expression shifts from gormless to a rictus grin as he recalls his crimes;
"Oh the feast... the cold meat of the dead... Wiktor listens now to the maggots. They speak for Deumus; the Glutton of Graves. A Duke of Hell... He serves Father Asmodeus... It vas he who avoke Wiktor's hunger and true nature..."
He shoots a nervous look towards Lilitu, hoping his reverence of Deumus meets her haughty approval before cackling to himself as his spidery fingers caress the stunted horns that rupture from the ghoul's pallid head.
Wiktor then hefts his heavy mace, a misshapen lump of cold iron and falls in line;
"Crush them indeed Clarissa... Ve break bones... Gnaw and chew."
Jassie will tighten up the straps on her armor and grab her buckler. While there's a dagger at her belt, she pulls a few marbles out of a pouch and rolls them around in her free hand.
She moves to the back of the group but seems ready to face these threats.
You all arrive at a door going to the basement and Tiadpra opens the door down and silently watches you descend.
Clarissa raised an eye-bow when tight lipped Tiadpra ignored the Tiefling's question (what was her name? Lilitu that's right). Cardinal Thors had enjoined them to 'Let nothing and no one stand in your way', so she gave the woman a speculative glance.
Perturbed by the silence of the servant Lilitu huffs and speaks in a terse voice"Fine." She stops and brightens a little as she smiles and turns to the group "I suggest the more combat inclined of us should go first. I'll follow them and so forth. What say you? Augier that means you first I believe."
Audi ibn Jad follows along with the group through the house and to the door to the basement.
The Ancestors are really hoping he has a prestigious wine cellar down there.
The 1/2 orc looks over at Aaaggghhh as he is volunteering to proceed the party down into the depths. He also motions to
The Ancestors want me to keep tabs on you. Whenever you whisper to me, I shall hear you without much chance of others doing so.
Augier nods to Audi when he casts the spell. Yes, me first. I'll certainly block any incoming attacks. He draws his sword and thumps down the stairs.
Wiktor grows excited as they descend into the bowels of the mansion, grinning at Audi's musings on a wine cellar;
"Or could be crypt... Larder of the dead..."
He stifles a giggle, then falls in behind the wide meatshield orc...
Jassie stays near the rear, but is ready to move forward.
Lilitu looks back at Wiktor and says "Father rarely gives you what you want, just what you need. By the way, should I fall, please refrain from eating me until the chance to bring me back to life has been completely explored. Not that death scares me. It's the fact that my Father may not be done with me and I'd hate to come back to a half eaten body." She then turns her attention and longspear to the now light room.
Stone stairs lead down to an empty chamber. On the archway is an inscription, “Deception is a tool. Self-deception is death. Deceive always thy enemy but never thyself.”
There is a thirty by thirty square chamber. There is a door to the east.
Clarissa read the inscription and remarked, "Deception is a tool. Self-deception is death... Oh I like that!"
She peers into the room which seems empty, "I assume we are being deceived here. Perhaps there's a hidden door, or an illusion or something like that!"
She has a good look before entering and then whispers a centering chant which lets her slide into the trance needed to visualise the presence or absence of magic. It was a bit like defocusing your eyes and looking to the side at the same while concentrating on everything and nothing.
Sensing a trap Lilitu whispers a prayer to Asmodeus to grant her magic sight. Allowing her vision to shift she searches the room for auras. Hoping to find any traps before falling into it she moves carefully through the room.
Augier carefully examines the floor and walls for hints of anything that might point to something hidden.
Audi ibn Jad waits on the stairs heading downward to this mysterious room.
What seems to be the issue?
The scarred 1/2 orc proceeds down to stare at the inscription above the entrance way.
“Deception is a tool. Self-deception is death. Deceive always thy enemy but never thyself.”
The Witch tries to recall if anyone famous said this quote.
Wiktor nods and grimaces at Lilitu's instruction not to eat her.
"Ach... Okay. Wiktor not gnaw or chew on you."
As they enter the room the wretch stares at the words, mulling their meaning.
"Death? Self-diseption... Wiktor not sure what this way of killing is?"
Seeing the others examine the room, he does the same...
... for scant seconds before staring, slack jawed at the easterly door.
"Wiktor has found door. Nothing else. Should we open?"
The cat looks lazily around the room licking her paw a bit and says there is a trap on the door and a secret door to the North and the south in the walls.
"Without self-deception, I'm not sure if I'd even exist." She says as she pauses to look around.
[b]"Let's not be too hasty. We should check each other's perceptions before taking action here."[/]b She says to Wiktor.
Clarissa admits "Can't say I ever learned to jimmy a lock or disable a trap. I hope one you can do that... But it seems to be that one of the secret doors might be the way to go, assuming they're not also trapped!"
Fiddling with locks and traps is something I don't know without bashing. Augier shrugs and nods to the catwoman.That is your area.
I don't do traps darling so someone else will have to do that
Talia says
Lilitu stands in the middle of the room and silently pointing north and south as if she were playing a game of eeny-meeny-miny-moe. She finally points to the northern door and says "I say we go north. East is a trap, no doubt, and I usually go left first. But what ever you all want. I have no touch with machines though."
Audi just smiles.
Good thing none of the doors, walls, floors were trapped at the prison.
Clarissa snorts, "So wait, none of us know anything about disarming traps? Oh this is going to be fun!" She clapped her hands, "Any volunteers for trying the northern secret door? How does that open anyway?"
Lilitu smiles and waves her hand in the direction of Clarissa "Please be my guest. I'll be right behind Brick...I mean Augier." She laughs adding "I'm making a joke of course."
Slow and painful, slow and painful Augier thinks.
"Apologies for the confusion. I lack the ability to disarm magical traps, but I should be able to handle most mundane ones. I don't suppose one of you can sense magical traps?" Talia asks the rest of the group.
The northern secret door fails to open at the first attempt. The room remains quiet.
Augier tries the southern door.
Wiktor watches the others shift around the room, deciding on the best course of action.
His balefire eyes shift towards the easterly door once again;
"How ve know this trap? Maybe others are trap... Maybe this is crypt..."
Clarissa shrugged and replied with the hint of a smile, "Are you more of a dog person or a cat person? It's always been cats for me and the cat says it's a trap."
She wandered over to the southern wall and tried to see if she could figure out how it opened.
Lilitu looks around the room scanning for magic hoping to find any magical traps saying "Just give me a moment to look and I should be able to see any magic here"
Aggghhh finds a small trigger in the wall and pushes and then pulls and a hallway opens to the south as an exit. At the same time Lilitu looks to the North and sees the outline of another trigger along with a faint illusion under the stone there. To the east there is a trap door on the floor and it looks like some more faint illusion behind what you see is a fake door that when you would pull would drop you into that pit.
Audi ibn Jad smiles as the more perceptive folk unveil the doors.
Which one would you consider to fit the last line of the inscription?Deceive always thy enemy but never thyself . I suggest we start that way.
"Mmm the cat was right." Clarissa remarked to Wicktor. To nobody in particular, she asked, "So which one? Lilitu wanted to go north before..."