Miya pulls away from Tadia at Eliza's intervention, but she keeps her eyes narrowed at her as she steps away. Her frustration with the psychic is quite evident.
As Alexi's voice returns but her own does not, Miya sighs in frustration and confusion.
When everyone is ready to go, Miya moves to stand in front of the bloody entrance to where their previous battle with the undead creature ended abruptly.
"Okay, what is the best tactic with this thing as you have both fought it before. Do we want to try to get up close, or will we be unable to and need to fight from afar? The more prepared we are, the better. For example did either of you think it might be weak to something such as fire or light?"
Having no idea whatsoever what the creature might be, Tadia stands silently next to Eliza, glowering at Miyasaki.
Miya tries to remember what she saw and see if that jogs her memory about what it could be. Regardless, she does her best slashing claw interpretation as trying to demonstrate having her breath and voice sucked away, hoping Alexi can fill in the gaps with some vocal description.
"It seemed like the creature was once a child. Perhaps toys or games could distract it," Alexi suggests. "Otherwise, I suggest we try to hit it hard and fast and avoid its touch!"
With the party much more prepared this time they advance and shove the door open once more. The creature is back where it was before, standing in the middle of an odd spiral in the floor.
Once again it looks up as the ladies enter and then Miya lets out a horrific scream! But the voice comes from the small creature, not the champion...
It strides forwards, still screaming in Miya's voice and strikes the champion with jaws and claws!
Eliza claps her hands to her ears, but it does little good against the piercing scream.
She strides forwards and tries to surround the bird of bones before stepping back again to give Miya and Alexi some space to do what they do best.
Tadia snarls back as the creature wails and sends three bolts of mystical energy slamming into it.
Stupefied and flat-footed from her second failure at trying to remember how to deal with this pesky undead, Alexi swings her sword over its head.
First stealing her voice, the creature before her now steals her breath. Unable to breathe, she collapses, unconscious.
Miya falls, Alexi fails and Eliza is hit with a horrible sense of deja vu! Only Tadia seems able to act normally, but then she is a very angry young woman! Her missiles batter the creature a little but does nothing to stop Miya screaming. Then the champion falls unconscious and blessed silence returns to the room once more!
The creature, with one easy meal before it, lashes out at Alexi.
Antoli:-60
Eliza bends down momentarily to help clear Maya's airways before stepping forwards and striking the creature yet again.
Miya grabs her weapon, struggles to her feet, and heals herself a little bit more with lay on hands.
Her anger manifesting fully now, Tadia sends another barrage of missiles at the small undead.
She follows it up with a violent blast.
Alexi resists the ill effects of the monster's attacks but still is unable to hit anything worth a damn.
The creature slips in between its attackers and leaps on Tadia! It is beginning to look pretty bedraggled after the repeated magic missiles, but it still has fight left in it!
Anatoli -79
Eliza follows in pursuit, not wanting to allow Tadia to take all of its ire.
Whiff! Whiff!
The psychic's cry of anger and pain goes silent as she collapses under the diminutive figure's clawed onslaught.
Miyasaki swings her weapon without much chance of hitting anything, frustrated at her inability to be effective in this combat. Out of breath and irritated, she draws a deep breath and focuses on her target, timing her strike perfectly.
+
+
+
With a final, desperate blow Miya smashes the skull into pieces and the creature collapses! Miya takes in a convulsive gasp of air and finds that she can speak again!
Eliza quickly bends over Tadia to tend to the woman.
Gently shaking Tadia's shoulder, Eliza tries to rouse the psychic. You're okay, don't startle now."
As soon as Tadia stirs, Eliza cannot help but muse on the situation.
"That was indeed an interesting if not terrifying specimen. Miya, have you regained your voice?"
The sensation of someone ripping something out of her throat quickly passes, but it takes a few minutes for Tadia to calm herself.
Having just cursed to herself in her native tongue moments ago, Miya is overjoyed she can speak again now. She nods her head to Eliza and says "Yes. Creature took it. I have back now."
She begins treating wounds and using her lay on hands ability to help everyone recover from the battle.
"Well thats a relief it isn't permanent at least. I wonder if we could have conversed with the creature through you, although I suppose it never gave us the chance to find out." Eliza says, exploring the possibility.
"I wonder if that is enough excitement for the day and we should retire for some rest. I myself wouldn't mind, and honestly I want to see what else I can dig up about this place."
Predictably, Alexi makes no progress with her research.
Miya is exhausted, frustrated and a very non-researchy time of mood. Unsurprisingly, she gets nothing done.
Tadia retreats to the secret study to research more about the void mirror.
After a frustrating evening of hitting the books (literally in the case of some party members) the group retires to the kitchen for dinner, where Ezramalkun enjoys the company, and thence to bed where everyone dreams strange dreams...
The next morning, apart from some unpleasant nightmares of children stealing voices and dancing around in shrieking parades, everything seems relatively normal - for waking up in an obviously haunted house at least.
Returning upstairs no-one wants to open the door to the attic whisperers room again and it remains firmly closed. The room next door is almost identical save for the lack of children's accouterments. It is also on a state of disarray, with books torn from shelves and furniture ripped apart. A writing desk has its drawers pulled out and upended. Despite the mess in here with some tidying and sorting some of the journals and other writings in here might be very useful.
Returning to the center of the upper level the group investigates the room in the center, which proves to be an elaborately appointed study. As Eliza bends to put the key in the lock she feels a sudden wave of vicious hatred sweep over her. A moment later, a pool of blood splatters onto the floor then creates a dripping trail to the west, leading towards the bathroom where you found the odd ring.
Inside shelves line the east and west walls of this office, while twin tapestries depicting the reds and blacks of Cheliax hang to the north. In front of a wide wooden desk are two chairs, one overturned, with a third chair behind it. A red-handled hatchet sticks up from the desk’s surface, embedded in the wood and surrounded by a stain of dried blood.
After the candles have been blown out and everyone is about to finally get some rest after a long night of sleep, Eliza's voice rings out through the darkness.
"Why exactly are so many of these creatures fighting against our presence here not coming out to meet us in the hallways? Don't you think it strange?"
*********************
*********************
Eliza's stomach turns as the blood splatters the floor, over the toes of her boots.
"I do not think it wise to touch this hatchet right now." Eliza poses whilst looking into the room cautiously, not taking a step inside.
Not having an answer for Eliza's question, Tadia simply shrugs and curls up tighter into a ball.
"Unless I was attacked by a pile of firewood, I can't imagine ever needing to touch a hatchet," the psychic says with a frown.
She closes her eyes to focus on the spiritual and pushes her senses outward to detect the otherworldly.
Alexi has angry dreams...
***
"Yes, that is definitely haunted," Alexi agrees. Fortunately, she seems to know just what to do to put it to rest! She presents her holy symbol of Pharasma and intones a solemn prayer.
Whether is is a piece of Alexi's wide ranging knowledge, or simply the force of her conviction, but at her powerful invocation there is a scream of rage, followed by a long sigh as though someone had put down a heavy burden. The hatchet shakes a little and then falls flat on the desk as the stain of dried blood disappears.
When Tadia examines it the hatchet proves to be still enchanted . Investigating the desk locates an open drawer which contains a potions rack - there are three potions in it and space for three more. A few moments later the answer is found, three more empty vials lie on the floor.
The various books in this room can be used to research Fulvia Nostraema, Ioseff Xarwin, the Order of the Starless Night, the starless scope, the Void Mirror, and Xarwin Manor.
"I don't know what you just did Alexi, but whatever it was it was certainly effective."
Eliza sniffs the potions trying to figure out if they're still usable.
"These will certainly be useful still. I think they will make a few things a little less severe if we need it." Eliza comments, "Although we might want to add water to make them more consumable before we try. Who knows how long they've been here and it certainly looks like they've dried out some."
Eliza, clutching one of the potions, studies Miya momentarilly. "Miya, you should try drinking one. I have a feeling it might make things a little more ... manageable after the outburst yesterday. I might not be right, but there is no harm in trying."
Tadia casually flips through one of the books on the nearby shelf before putting it back. "We should finish exploring this floor," she says before heading out and indicating the northern-most door to the east.
The door Tadia indicates opens onto a dusty bedroom which contains a simple bed and a tall dresser to the north. Against the eastern wall, a pair of chairs placed on opposite sides of a small table are set between two grimy windows. The wall opposite this table also features a fireplace.
Hanging in the fireplace is a truly massive desiccated wasps nest and it is fortunate that the wasps are long dead else there would likely have been a truly unpleasant battle. However now there is nothing of interest or value.
The next room around proves to be a chapel. Three shelves filled with books occupy the western half of the room, while to the east an iron spiral staircase descends to the library on 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 woman 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.
Miya's divinely attuned senses warn you of a spirit of some sort, a powerful poltergeist! The battle that follows is difficult, but between Miya's divine gifts and Alexi's esoteric knowledge (to say nothing of the ever reliable method of blasting with force) the poltergeist is, temporarily at least, defeated.
Eliza examines the statue, of Pharasma she notes idly, and realises that the foot can be moved. Swivelling it reveals a hollow within, containing three bound diaries and a pair of scrolls - one of restoration (4th) and one of ghostly weapon. The diaries proves to be written by one Asethanna Xarwin, which might be a fruitful line of research.
The final door opens into a short corridor. The first room is apparently 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 objects, 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.
The hatchet on display here is a twin to the one Alexi exorcised in the study, like the other it is a +1 weapon.
The last room is boarded up, although it could likely be opened with only a few minutes work...
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Eliza, clutching one of the potions, studies Miya momentarilly. "Miya, you should try drinking one. I have a feeling it might make things a little more ... manageable after the outburst yesterday. I might not be right, but there is no harm in trying."
Miya clearly doesn't completely understand what Eliza is getting at, but if she says she thinks she needs it, she'll agree. She takes the potion, pops the top and sniffs it twice before consumes it.
"We should finish exploring this floor," she says before heading out and indicating the northern-most door to the east.
Oh. Now she wants to continue exploring the floor after imaginary man does not exist. How convenient.
Miya turns to glare at Tadia before pushing past her to lead the way with only an accidental brushing of her shoulder as she moves past.
After the battle with the poltergeist, Miya thanks Alexi for her assistance.
Miya goes to work on the boarded up room, taking them down with the least amount of damage to clear the path forward.
Miya turns to glare at Tadia before pushing past her to lead the way with only an accidental brushing of her shoulder as she moves past.
Tadia's eyes narrow and her fists clinch at her sides. A quick glance shows her that Eliza didn't witness the gesture and that she's on her own in this exchange.
"So Miya." Eliza says, waiting to see if there was any change in the champion after she swigged the potion. "How has it made you feel? Any better? Less....." Eliza cannot think of a word to finish the sentence so just lets it trail off, hoping that her plan was effective.
"I feel..." Miya starts before actually considering how she feels. Pausing, she takes a moment to think about it before responding. "I feel. Maybe different? More. Free?"
Happy with her response, she nods with a half-smile. "All better. Thank you."
She glances at Tadia before asking "You have potion for Tadia to fix her too? Or no fixing her?"
She glances at Tadia before asking "You have potion for Tadia to fix her too? Or no fixing her?"
Tadia's only response is to tip her head a bit to the side and stick out her tongue momentarily.
Miya blinks at Tadia before turning back to Eliza and says "Right. No fixing."
Eliza closes her eyes for a moment, steadying her emotions as she is surrounded by the young women.
"Right, let us get back on track I think. I think these potions are restoring our sense of control over ourselves, and Miya is certainly feeling more of her usual self which is reassuring."
Eliza sets to pulling some of the boards off the room, glancing back towards Alexi and Miya with an expectant look of help.
When Eliza points out the striking rune on the hatchet they discovered, Miya nods and agrees here kusarigama could benefit by its increased power. While pulling boards off with Eliza and Alexi, she asks "Can you transfer rune?"
When Eliza points out the striking rune on the hatchet they discovered, Miya nods and agrees here kusarigama could benefit by its increased power. While pulling boards off with Eliza and Alexi, she asks "Can you transfer rune?"
Eliza winces. "No, I just know that its possible, its not something I ever bothered to learn and just, perhaps wrongly, assumed thats what everybody trained in defence would learn?"
"I know how to transfer runes," Tadia states, her lips curling up into a smirk.
She stands off to the side, fully aware that her physique would offer little benefit in clearing the intentionally barricaded door.
Not looking at Tadia, but rather staring at the boarded up wall, Miya sighs heavily and lets her head sag down to her chest. In Tien, she mutters to herself Of course she does.
Sucking in a breath, she restores her posture and turns to Tadia. With authority she declares, "Good. You transfer rune then since you too weak to work on boards." She pulls out her kusarigama and tosses the unwieldly weapon at Tadia for her to catch, knowing it is highly unlikely she'll be able to do so with the hook, chain and weight moving all at once.
Tadia doesn't even try to catch the awkward weapon, stepping aside to let it land with a clatter and clink on the floor. She reaches down and picks it up by the chain. She throws Eliza a look that clearly says, 'See?!'
Turning back to Miyasaki, she dials in for her best 'disappointed nanny' voice. "In civilized lands, when we ask someone to do something for us, we do it politely. 'Tadia, would you please transfer the rune to my weapon?' But I shouldn't expect someone who speaks Taldane like a three-year-old to understand that."
Miya frowns, confused, trying to process Tadia's response. "Why you want me to speak to you like three year old?"
She moves up to Tadia and pats her on her head while she says in her best mocking of parent-to-child voice "Yes Tadia. Good girl. Please Tadia do something useful. Good Tadia. Thank you Tadia for doing your job."
Tilting her head to one side, she folds her arms on her chest and looks down at the psychic. "Better, Tadia?"
Still removing the boards from the door, Eliza listens to the girls behind her, before realising the whole situation is escalating very quickly. She gives up with the stubborn plank nailed into the doorframe and whips around placing her hands sternly on her hips.
"Girls, please!" She snaps, exasperated. "I'm sure we are all grown up enough to come up with a consensus. Tadia is indeed very skilled in many walks of life - luckily for us all this seems to be one of them. Miya is a very successful swordswoman and to help her do this, we can improve her chosen weapon to make sure she can keep us all safe."
"Perhaps, if we can all learn to work together then this would be considerably easier?" She says glancing between the two girls, her left eyebrow arched expectantly.