Examining the door it does not appear to be locked or trapped. Pushing it open reveals pieces of mannequins hanging from chains or impaled on spikes in the foyer. Some have macabre fleshy or metallic additions. A few bleed. Three complete statues depict a monstrous humanlike woman in various dance poses, her mouth open as if singing or screaming. Her long, pale locks darken to crimson toward the tips. She dresses in a bizarre, painful-looking harness of leather and iron. Some of her skin is flayed, some of her bones exposed.
Her mouth has oversized fangs and a thick, pale tongue, and her eyes resemble clockwork mechanisms. One of the statues holds her harness open, revealing a withered heart cabled into a bloody hole in her chest. Words in blood mark the wall and the scent of it hangs in the air. Several casks have also been stacked here, painted with a broken bone in a pool of blood.
The words on the wall read, in Varisian, “Interlopers shall be consumed.”
"Yeah, okay. I guess when you're looking for somebody who steals teeth, you should see this coming."
Pine draws his weapons and moves to disappear among the debris.
Slick enters the room for a closer look at the figures. He glances at the mannequins before his eyes rest on the three statues of the grotesque woman. "Hmmm. Not sure I like the look of this one." He looks closely at the bloated tongue, the fangs, the clockwork eyes, the uncomfortable harness. "The withered heart with the cable punched through her chest is a particularly nice touch, though I might suggest she find herself a new cardiologist."
He glances left and right at the doors out of the room. He gestures towards the southern door. "My guess is that the window peeker is through there. Let's find out who it is we're dealing with." He moves over to the door and knocks. "Hello! We here to see Marzalee." He tries the door and pokes his hear through if it opens. "I don't suppose you happen to know where we might find her?"
Billy peeks inside and frowns, "This entire set and these costume designs are quite ... unlike the productions back home. The director of this playhouse has interesting tastes."
The bard scans the room, casting Detect Magic, specifically focusing on the mannequins, statues, and the strangely-painted casks.
With his magical search complete, Billy moves up with Slick and listens at the door. He then steps back.
Surprisingly, thee is no magic in the room. Calling out provokes no response. Slick pushes open the door revealing a narrow corridor with three doors leading off it...
Slicks frowns in mild frustration. "How disappointing. I was hoping for something more interesting than an empty hallway."
He steps into said hallway and repeats his earlier call with the door directly before him. First he knocks. "Hello! We're here to see Marzalee." He pauses in case there is some sort of response, then tries the door. Poking his head through, he quickly scans the room and adds, "I don't suppose you happen to know where we might find her?"
After letting the group know there's nothing radiating magic, Billy adds, "Not everything valuable is magical." He moves to the casks and opens them one-at-a-time to see if there's anything being stored within.
Assuming he finds nothing interesting, Billy follows Slick into the corridor.
As Billy prises open one of the casks his nose is assaulted with a most revolting stench of blood, death and rotting meat. Inside the cask is a bloody brew with lumps of rotting flesh bobbing within. It's enough to make the little halfling gag.
Meanwhile, Slick knocks on the door and is surprised to find an answer, Err, hello, yes, who are you?
Poking his head into the room he sees an orderly bedchamber which smells of sandalwood, perhaps from the oil lamp lighting it. It also contains two beds, one human sized and one much larger, along with a wardrobe and a workbench lined with odd tools. Some of the tools are surgical, while others are sculptors’ implements. Most are too large for human-sized hands.
An older woman in a yellow smock is pacing up and down. As Slick opens the door she smiles with relief, Hello dear, come in, quickly now, and your friends too. Oh I have been so hoping a group of heroes might arrive and help put things to rights. Yes, yes, come in she says, ushering you all inside. She peers into the corridor, rather fearfully, and then quickly shuts the door.
Would anyone like some tea? she asks.
Slick was not expecting such a warm welcome from such a grandmotherly figure. He had in fact prepared himself to face a giant ant queen wielding needles and scissors. "Ah, um, Slick's the name. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Recovering his composure, he eyes the woman over.
Satisfied that the woman was as she seemed, Slick looks back at his colleagues. "The way seems to be clear. Anyone interested in some tea?"
Not wanting to risk any of the woman's furniture with his great weight, Slick stands in the corner and sips his tea politely, letting Billy do the talking.
Upon opening the cask, Billy nearly retches. He chokes out, "Oof, that is..." (he coughs) "...quite vile." Quickly replacing the lid, the halfling shakes his head to clear it. "Really really awful. And it doesn't seem to be dissipating." He follows Slick into the corridor, largely to put more space between himself and the casks. "I'm not sure if I'm doing justice in describing the truly horrific stench that ..." He's about to continue, when Slick glares at him to let it rest.
Entering the bedchamber, Billy is excited to meet our host and retrieves his jug. "Greetings madam. I'm Billy. Might you be Marzalee? We're hoping to chat with her. Either way, it's a pleasure to meet you and visit this lovely theater." He continues, "You see, when I'm not adventuring, I'm a performer, quite well-known in Absalom."
When she offers tea, Billy holds up his jug, "I always bring my own refreshments. Would you care for some honey mead?" Billy sips his mead, and responds, "We'd love to help you put things right. In fact, perhaps we can help each other. What do you require?"
Risking more glaring from Slick, Billy can't help but mention, "I'm sorry to report that a couple of your casks in that first room have gone ... bad."
Marzalee, me, no, oh dear not, of course not dear.
At the offer of some spirits she shudders a little, Oh no dear, I never touch strong drink, tea is my preferred tipple. Here you go she says pressing a saucer into Billy's hands.
I have to say, things have been very bad here for quite some time but no-one really takes any notice of me. Oh, I've been very rude, my name is Molly. I'm the local midwife and I help Marzalee. But, as I say, things have been bad since Sonnorae came back. I am afraid she was rather angry, especially as she has been transformed into a velstrac. Marzalee has too, that's not good but I have to help her to keep repairing people. Unfortunately she tends to change people into velstracs. Not good at all. But now you are all here and perhaps you can do something about it. I am afraid that Marzalee has really gone quite mad and the only thing left is to put the poor old dear out of her misery. Do you think you could do that? As kindly as possible of course, once she was just a lovely big ant queen who helped fix people. All of this isnt really her fault.
She stops suddenly, But, you havent said why you are here. Had you already heard about Marzalee or are you here for something else? Did you have something to do with the earthquakes a few weeks back?
Slick sips his tea and tries to hide a grimace. He was a coffee man and this cup of warm water with barely any flavor in it was just not doing anything for him. "We're actually searching for a character called The Prince of Wolves. Looks like he recently took over your little realm and tried to invade ours from it. Could be that those earthquakes you felt were a side-effect of that attempt."
He puts down the tea carefully so as not to spill any. "But more immediately, we're looking for Marzalee because we've been told that she is in possession of the tongue and teeth of Bernaditi, a deficiency he would like us to rectify for him. From what you are telling us, it appears that Marzalee is unlikely to give them up without a fight. If so, then we'll take her down as quickly and gently as possible."
"But, it sounds to me like this Sonnorae you mentioned is the real villain in this affair. If she's nearby somewhere, then we will likely run into her at some point. Is there anything you can tell us about her that might help us when that time comes?"
Billy smiles and says, "You have a kind way about you, Molly. I'll trust you're not here to hurt me." After stowing away his jug, he says, "Sure, I'll try some tea." Not wanting to be rude, Billy accepts the tea, and takes a cautious sip.
After Slick answers her question, Billy adds, "Yes. What he said. We're adventurers collecting magic harrow cards to help us stop the Prince." He shows her The Theater, and continues, "As my friend said, we ran into Bernaditi at the nearby circus. He said that Marzalee took his teeth and tongue. We're hoping to return them to the poor chap. Do you know where she might be keeping them?"
After she tells Slick about Sonnorae, Billy asks, "May I ask where Sonnorae came back from? Oh, and what can you tell us about velstracs?" When Slick shares his earthquake theory, Billy nods, "My friend may be right about that, but we can't be sure. How long ago did they occur?"
Molly looks puzzled, Prince of Wolves, no, can't say I have heard of him and he certainly hasn't invaded our realm. We were struck by violent storms and a series of powerful earthquakes a few weeks ago, it has all been very worrying. It caused the deaths of several people who Marzalee reconstructed...
Oh, you are here for Bernaditi, such a poor fellow. It was really very sad what happened to him. Yes, I believe Marzalee has his tongue and teeth in her chamber. It's the large central room but do be careful. She is very large and very dangerous but as you are heroes I am sure you will be fine. As for Sonnorae, no, she isnt really a villain. She was betrayed by her own creations and killed by the inhabitants here. Somehow she managed to revive herself but in the process she became a velstrac. When she returned she visited punishments on those who had betrayed her equivalent to what they did to her. It is all really very sad. You can find her in the Striding Fortress in the Dearth. It used to patrol around the realm but since all the disruption those weeks ago it hasn't moved at all.
Billy finds his tea mild, refreshing and not at all poisoned. Oh, you are looking for cards from the new Deck that appeared. I have one here, it appeared amongst my things months ago, no idea why! Maybe you can also use these few things as well? she says producing a variety of medicinal items.
Sigourney finally speaks up after snapping out of her Refocusing trance. She graciously takes two tea cups, one for herself and one for Reginald. She offers her opinion before imbibing.
"Velstracs, huh? I know a thing or two about them. Nothing good comes from those kinds of creatures - they make a Kuthite look like a well-adjusted member of society." She says in a scornful tone.
She sips her tea loudly, the sharp sound echoing off the walls. It's freshly reheated, thanks to Sigourney's Predestigation. She looks at Molly and starts to ask her questions.
"Can you tell us where the Dearth is located? We might want to have a few words with Sonnorae. If she's as nice as you claim she is, I'm sure Billy and Slick can come to an understanding with her."
Sigourney stares intently at Molly. To be completely unmolested and normal in such a horrid place is rather suspicious. She uses her Biological Eye to get an idea of Molly's place in this macabre house.
Molly is as she appears, a storykin who takes on the role of a Midwife.
Sigourney recalls that Velstracs are generally weak to silver and/or holy damage.
The Dearth dear, surely you know that. Its the blasted region which surrounds the realm. I thought everyone knew that.
Pinebrush tries to remain unseen as he observes Molly's interaction with the others. He almost intervenes when Slick accepts the tea, but then Billy gets him out of it.
And then they both drink it anyway! But nothing seems to be going wrong.
Hopping up as though he was never hiding (she just didn't notice him, an oversight really), he says "We've never been here before. There's... still a lot we don't know about these realms."
Was she just gonna tell them?
Slick nods happily as Molly hands over The Midwife and the other healer's items. "Thanks, Molly! I hope we won't need to use these, but better safe than sorry, eh?"
"This large central room you mentioned. Where might we find it?"
Billy is pleasantly surprised by the tea, "It's quite good, Molly. Possibly the best I've ever tasted. Thank you." He takes another sip.
When Molly mentions Sonnorae, Billy (a fellow Harrower) frowns. "Ah yes, I've heard stories about what happened to poor Sonnorae. How very sad. Perhaps we can find a way to help ease her pain." He looks forward to meeting her ... even if she's a velstrac. Speaking of velstracs...
After looking over the gifts, Billy says, "Very generous of you, Molly. These will definitely help." Turning to Pine, "You handle most of our healing, but I could make use of these too, just in case."
Pine peers into the enchanted medicine kit. "Neat! Awful big, though."
Molly heads over to the door and peers out, Its just that door there dear she says, pointing to the door down the hall on the other side. But there's a second door around the corner as well.
Billy recalls that velstracs are generally immune to cold damage. Pine thinks that it might be possible to reverse a velstracs transformation but such an event would take a long time and require a significant change of view by the individual. It would not be an easy option.
Slick thanks Molly for her help. "I suppose we'll go pay our respects to Marzalee now and see what the situation is with respect to getting Bernaditi's tongue and teeth back. If things are as bad as you say, then we will put her down as quickly as possible."
Once everyone is done talking with Molly, Slick bids her adieu and leads the group down to the indicated door further down the corridor. Letting Pinebrush first check it for traps or locks, he then opens the door to see what horrors Marzalee has been up to.
As Slick starts to walk towards the indicated door, Sigourney holds up a hand to stop him.
"Wait," she says, as her other hand fumbles around inside her sleeves, "Why should we walk into a room without first verifying what is inside?"
Pulling out her Clear Quartz Crystal ball, she activates it and casts Clairvoyance from it. The clear surface of the crystal ball rapidly shifts, revealing a scene from behind the indicated door.
Once satisfied, she places the crystal ball within her robes again, switching it out for her handy chunk of Silver. She then follows Slick into the hallway.
Returning his teacup to Molly, Billy smiles, "Thanks again for some of the best tea I've ever had."
If Sigourney confirms Marzalee is in the next room, Billy asks the others, "Who wants some magical haste on the off-chance we're gonna find ourselves in combat?"
With his musical accompaniment playing, Billy stands ready to cast Haste just before Slick and Pinebrush open the door.
Once Sigourney does her crystal ball viewing and Marzalee's presence in the room is confirmed, Slick turns to Sigourney. "Did you say that Velstracs like Marzalee are sensitive to silver? I should prepare my sword with some Silver Salve before we go in then."
Once Pinebrush gives the all-clear on the door and Billy finishes casting Haste on them, Slick prepares for battle. Gripping his greatsword with both hands, he says, "Everybody ready? Let's say hello to Marzalee," and then opens the door.
The group gathers in the corridor and starts to make preparations. As Sigourney bends over her crystal a voice calls from the room within.
I hear you out there and you dont sound like Molly. Plotting against me are you! I think not.
Initiative
, +2 item visual/hearing, +2 circ scout
, Perception +24, +1 circ if visual, +2 circ scout
, +2 circ scout, +2 item visual
From inside the room you hear the sound of spellcasting.
Turn Order
Marzalee
--------------------------------------
Pine
Billy
Slick
Sigourney
Bold to act.
Combat status
Slick [248]
Billy [198], 10 THP, see invisibile,
Pinebrush [214]
Sigourney [200]
Reginald [112]
Marzalee
Sigourney, surprised at the presence of Marzalee's functioning eardrums, is slow to react to Marzalee's threat.
Her Patron is faster to react than she is. They give Reginald a Command, which he follows.
With her newly freed tentacle, Sigourney opens the door, revealing...
Reginald tilts his head up, as if listening to an order that only he can hear. With practiced speed, he Interacts to take the Holy Aligned Oil out of Sigourney's tentacle, then Strides over to Slick, then finally Interacts to administer the Holy Aligned Oil to Slick's sword.
Feeling at home in the theater, even a macabre one like this, Billy sings out:
♫"The show must go on, it is said.
In spite of the stench from the dead.
.....A velstrac: awaiting.
.....My song: inspirating.
Fight hard, and let's put her to bed."♫
Billy then hastens the group.
♫"Marzalee is here. She seems to be quite needy.
Solution's pretty clear. Our group should be more speedy."♫
Billy buffs the group in his normal way.
Reginald heads off to deliver his oil.
Sigourney reaches out and opens the door. Inside it is all pitch black, the room is clearly covered in magical darkness.
Opening the door, Sigourney is struck by a hot, humid stink of rendered fat and fresh gore. Four vats contain a crimson slurry churning around chains or armatures that hang into the tubs. Pieces of unfinished bodies, many with an artificial sheen, dangle from other barbed chains, hooked cables, or bizarre iron frames. Fumes vent upward through enormous chimneys, barred at the bottom.
Marzalee, a massive ant with bits of metal welded on to her stands in the middle of the room.
...to reveal a charnel house containing a massive ant. Sigourney rankles her nose as the smell and heat hits her. This is absolutely disgusting, she thinks to herself. I don't even think a Kuthite would deign to live like this.
As she feels that the magical darkness is rather suspicious and since she is eager to try out a Dispel Magic spell, she reaches out to the darkness and attempts to remove it from the room through pumping primal magic into the room until the darkness goes away.
"I'll get the lights. Slick, Pine, I need you two to exterminate this insect." She urges the martials to do what they do best - engage the enemy.
With a spring in her step, she hastily moves out of the doorway and out of line of sight with the giant ant.
Sigourney manages to shred the magical darkness.
"We were plotting about how to help everyone, actually," Pine says as he darts into the room, "That does seem to be 'against you,' but it doesn't have to be. That's your choice. And that part really didn't take any plotting anyway."
While he's chattering distractingly, Pine takes a false swing with his whip, knowing she'll dodge and using that to step closer, under her guard.
With the darkness having dissipating almost as soon as it appeared, The majesty and horror that is Marzalee becomes clearly visible to Slick. He quickly decides that Molly was right and that there would be no reasoning with this monstrous fiend. Not willing to give the velstrac any further advantage, he launches himself into the room. As he leaps over the 20 feet between them, Slick raises his sword high and brings it down on her twice as he lands and then continues hacking away at her with wilder strikes hoping to hit home.
Target must succeed at a DC 24 Fortitude save or be deafened for 1 minute (or 1 hour on a critical failure) (Thundering).
Target takes an additional 2d10 persistent fire damage (Greater Flaming).