"Woah!" Iosif says as he ducks when a bolt is fired at him, backing away slowly. "Where'd you get that idea?"
Iosif figures he might eventually get shot at... but being called a shapechanger?
"Please!" Elyssa pleaded, throwing out her hands in peace. "We mean you no harm. We're survivors trying to make our way through the asylum."
"Iosif... I said 'subtly.'" Alvar steps out of the room, sighing inwardly. Well, we... didn't even really try, did we? Their eyes narrow as they realize what the guards were saying. "It appears that the good 'doctor' was not the only one of her kind here." They observe aloud.
Multiple shapeshifters in one sanitarium? That's... exceedingly unlikely. If it were just Scaen, it's possible - unlikely, but possible. But enough that they're paranoid about it? No, something's even more wrong than I'd thought. A zoog, more than one doppelgänger...
Rather than speaking their thoughts, they raise their voice from behind Iosif. "Do you honestly think that if I were a shapeshifter I would choose this shape to try to infiltrate you?" They pause, measuring whether or not the humans could see them, but gesture at their crimson skin, horns, and tail nonetheless.
Ethyl slips her dagger into a fold in her pyjamas and joins the others while raising her hands, ”None of us remember ourselves or anything since we woke up in an impromptu mortuary not even an hour ago. Our first sight upon waking was someone being brutally carved up by a doppelganger, which we managed to kill. You’re welcome by the way. I don’t suppose you could fill us in on some details of our situation, we seem to be lacking a few?"
Ethyl remembers something, "Hey Camphre! Are there people anyone you know?"
Iosif points the muzzle of his firearm downwards, engaging a (hastily constructed, and perhaps not even functional) safety trigger to show he means no harm... granted they probably have no idea what he even did, so it has no effect.
The sylph watches the events from her corner. She winces as the bolts fly through the hallway, then takes a cautionary step away from the door. Her forehead wrinkles. "Wake up in a cell waiting for some creature to cut you up, climb through heating pipes, get confused for rat food, and now we become target practice dummies."
She clutches her scarf in silence for a moment. "A lovely day indeed." and adds "Or night. True." after a few seconds of silence and turns her head towards Campre as the half-elf addresses the man. "We'll see."
Campre shakes his head. "I don't recognize those voices. Maybe if I saw their faces?"
A guard peeks over the barricade to look at the party peering out into the hallway. "How convenient, having no memories? Like we've said, we're wise to their tricks. How do we know you aren't more monsters?"
"Hold on," Campre mutters. "That's Vaustin York, one of the senior orderlies. I'd know his bark anywhere." He hobbles to the door but doesn't leave the boiler room. "Mister York! This is Campre Linweigh, one of the orderlies on the night shift. I'd like to offer my word that we aren't shapeshifters!"
"That's what the others had said. And they turned on us not one night among us. They can look, sound, smell like one of us and we wouldn't know until it was too late. What proof do we have you aren't one of them?"
"Would riddling a few with holes and cuts suffice?" Iosif asks, referring to the one downstairs. "We can bring you that one if you need proof we aren't shapeshifters."
In that moment, Elyssa sorely wishes she could show her thoughts and feelings to the skeptical staff but alas that doesn't seem to be an ability in her psychic repertoire. At least for now. Instead she has to improvise. "My friend speaks the truth. We felled one of the shapeshifters below. Campre can attest to that. But if that's not enough... she turns to their wounded orderlie friend. "Campre do you know some secret or fact that only an employee of the asylum would know?"
That won't work- Alvar realizes as Ethyl calls out to their rescued companion, and their suspicions are confirmed when the guards dismiss Campre out-of-hand. Yes. A doppelgänger could easily masquerade as someone they know. They shake their head minutely as Elyssa asks her question. Likewise with her question. Still, the guards might not know that, so they keep their mouth shut.
The tiefling looks to Iosif, nodding slightly. "Quite. We slew a doppelgänger to save ourselves from her... vivisections." They say to the guards, affirming both Elyssa and Iosif's words. "Would you like to see her corpse?" Though how we're going to get it up here is an entirely different question.
The guard "York" ducks back beneath the barricade for a couple of minutes. Eventually, he pokes his head back up.
"After conversing with our leader about this situation, we agree to your terms. Show us you aren't with them by providing at least three dead doppelgangers. None with crossbow bolt holes, though. We've had to fend off a few of their assaults already. Do that, and we'll consider letting you into our sanctuary. Now go, don't approach again without their grey corpses!"
Campre scoffs at Elyssa. "I doubt it, my lady. York was distrusting before all this, of course they'd need extreme proof."
Ethyl frowns, No guarantee there even are two more to kill. And killing even one nearly killed me.
She ran her finger along a vial of brackish liquid, How did that get there? No matter.
Another more primal part of her mind thought, Excellent.
She turned to face the hallway to the north leading the way forward when the others were done negotiating.
Elyssa looks visibly dejected as the other group of stubbornly refuse to let them pass in peace.
(Why are you shocked, sheath? All mortals are selfish creatures. Obsessed with their survival beyond all else. You should fellow their example.)
Despite the voice's taunt, apparent returning strength, Elyssa ignores it and follows Ethyl to the northern hallway.
Alvar scowls. "We nearly died killing one of them." They say, unconsciously echoing Ethyl's thoughts. "And my spells are not well-suited to dealing with another two."
They cast their gaze at the guards. "Your charity will not be forgotten. If you'd kindly direct us to the other doppelgängers, we'll get right on that." Their voice oozes sardonic bitterness as they mentally sift through their spells. Against doppelgängers... that one would probably be the most effective...
"I suppose we're heading away from this... fortification, then." They address their companions.
"The doppelgangers have come from the north," York hollers, gesturing with his crossbow, "you'll find them that way."
The light from the barricade's torches only goes so far, maybe 40 ft to the north before it becomes too dark for humans and low-light vision havers to see. Fortunately you do possess two unused sunrods. To the north there are two doors on the eastern side of the hall. The hall itself stretches on northwards like a well, dark and damp. Aside from the creak of the foundations and the erratic dripping of moisture, there are no other obvious sounds.
So, that's north. The wizard takes a moment to memorize that - orienting oneself is always valuable. They take a deep breath, gazing deeper into the darkness beyond the torches.
Alvar gestures to their louder comrades to remain behind for the moment. "Those of us with better darkvision and subtler feet ought to scout out for now." They say, aware that it is unlikely they'll surprise anything truly alert.
Treading unnervingly silently, they slip into the shadows and advance towards the first door, listening carefully through its wood and then - if they hear nothing threatening, slowly pushing it open to peer inside.
Iosif is just a mere human, so he decides to stay back while everyone scouts. He still tries to keep his eyes open, however.
Following Iosif's example, Elyssa hangs back from the others in the front and tries to pay attention to everything around as they way their way.
The sylph follows north into the hallway, taking care to not step on any loose debris with her bare feet as she does. As she moves past the man with the firearm, she slows down to address him. "Please don't fire that thing near me." before continuing onward. She looks back at the barricade to the south. As she moves past the half elf and the cambion, she murmurs "What if they're the shapeshifters and are planning to shoot us in the backs?"
The woman’s question gives Alvar pause. That’s… an excellent point. Why hadn’t they thought of that? Doesn’t matter. The answer’s the same.
”If they’re all doppelgängers, then we fight if they attack us, regardless… but I think we would have to flee anyways, possibly ducking into these rooms. Given what only one of them did to us, we have little chance against three at a time.” They do risk a brief glance back at the guards, but swiftly dismiss them and refocus on their own task.
"I'll try my best to stay away from you when firing" Iosif says.
Ethyl stays at the edge of where her senses allow her to see clearly. She listens to the darkness and prepares to strike a torch so that Iosif and Elyssa can see into the gloom. Her mind wandered a bit, chewing on a possible avenue for testing for a doppelganger, Maybe the chromatophores are excited by electricity, and could induce an involuntary change.
She couldn't help but ask Alvar too loudly, "Are doppelganger's able to see in darkness?"
There is very little of interest in the immediate northern hallway beyond the torchlight. It is dark, damp, and dull. The yellows of the walls and the greys of the floor and ceiling make for a sickening atmosphere. There is no noise in the first door Alvar listens to, but they note the faint smell of chlorine.
Opening it the smell becomes unmistakable and floods not just the tiefling's nose but those around them. Inside is a disorganized pile of fallen shelves and broken containers. There are linens and cleaning supplies on this closet's floor, the linens soaked with the chlorine. There looks like objects buried under the debris.
Ethyl's eyes widen when she sees the cleaning supplies, Bleach, very useful. She beings to methodically sort through everything in the closet for anything of use. "We can tie the linens together and make a rope and sling to haul the one below us up."
Elyssa's face lit up perhaps for the first time since she found herself in the asylum. "Oh that's a brilliant idea, Lady Ethyl," she beams before quickly correcting herself. "No, its Doctor Ethyl, yes? My apologizes."
With that out of the way, the young psychic does what she can to aid Ethyl is searching through the debris for anything interesting or useful.
Alvar shifts, looking around the room. No threats yet... Best not to let their guard down, though. They glance to Ethyl. An excellent problem-solver. Thought of it quickly and with just a glance at the materials available. It would be good to get a sense of the others' talents as they came. Shame I don't have a journal. Strange, that - they had writing tools and the like, but nothing to write in save their grimoire, which, obviously, wasn't an option.
They answer the doctor's question almost absent-mindedly. "Yes. Probably as well as I can, actually. I'd focus on keeping silent rather than keeping in shadow." As the two women begin investigating the room, Alvar keeps their senses keen for anything that might be approaching.
"We should discuss our capabilities, now that we're not in immediate danger." They muse aloud. "I am, I believe, a wizard - an... abjurer, I think. I appear to be studied in matters linguistic, arcane, and extraplanar, but more knowledge may yet arise." They sigh. "Our missing memories make it hard to take inventory of this sort of thing, but it is no less important for that."
Ethyl nods while organizing items into something sensible, at least to her. She comments "It is something at least. If we come across an apparent human, elf, or halfling who is not immediately hostile, we should douse the lights and test their sensory responses in the dark with you observing them. If they react then, while it is not certainly a doppelganger it is a decent indicator and perhaps deserves greater scrutiny.”
Ethyl glances at Elyssa, ”Please call me Ethyl, for the brevity of it. While I have most certainly earned a doctorate in something, the memory of exactly what, and which institution bestowed this honor eludes me. Although it is almost certainly alchemistry as it relates to biological function. As for my capabilities, I feel I am much more useful in a fully stocked lab with ample materials to work with than this environment. However, I can seem to use a dagger if violence is needed.”
"Seems there's nothing here. You can call me Iosif, though this may not be my true name. Given how many scientific theories and designs I remember -- I believe I am some form of smith and inventor of non-magical technologies. My lack of musculature in specific seems to indicate that I primarily used these technologies as well. I'll try to avoid being so close and in an enclosed chamber the next time I need to fire this," Iosif says while also surveying the area, looking for where to head to next. He leaves a few bits out, for obvious reason, hoping this situation can be resolved before any... inevitable disagreements form.
The sylph listens to the personal details revealing conversation -begrudgingly. While that happens, she silently looks for something that could indicate the location of an archive or something like a record-keeping room.
Alvar nods slightly at Ethyl and Iosif's introductions, but glance at the sylph with some concern. She doesn't seem like she's quite as... well, she doesn't seem to know as much about herself as we do ourselves. They rub their chin with their upper right thumb. I'm not sure how we can help her at the moment. Something to keep in mind.
They smile faintly. "I think we'll all appreciate that, Iosif." A false name? Curious.
Once the sheets have been sifted through, Alvar examines the haul. "A lantern may be useful to our fully human fellows, once the sunrods are expended... but it does require fuel, so we'll have to be... sparing in its use until we get out of this place." They look to their fellows. "Unless we discover more, of course."
With that last thought, they return to the hallway and begin to move towards the second door with careful steps and a wary gaze.
Iosif follows, unholy symbol clanking and firearm by his side.
Ethyl takes the lantern, the oil, and one of the winter blankets handing the other two to anyone who wants them. She holds her torch up and gazes down the hall.
Elyssa listens intently as the good doctor gave her story or at least what bare fragments the half-elf could remember. "I hope you made more use of alchemical supplies than daggers," she mused, thinking on her own mysterious past and even more mysterious powers.
When the group moves on, Elyssa reflectively tries to add more light to the area by holding out the strange prismatic crystal she found earlier and channeling her psychic energies into it. The end result is the crystal glowing brilliantly, filling the hall.
Opening the next door, which holds no noise behind it either, a similar state is found cluttered within. Fallen shelves and cleaning supplies litter the floor, however of slightly different make up. However, as this door is opened, there is movement beneath the sheets and rubble, snaking about towards the open door. Two giant centipedes scurry out from beneath the debris and chitter menacingly.
C L I C K, followed by a few daemonic swears as he misfires again.
As Iosif's musket clicks with no result, the [red] centipede hisses and bites at Alvar, being the one to open the door. However, its mandibles bounce off the tiefling's mage armor harmlessly. Its legs twitch and shiver, the small glossy eyes regarding the cambion.
Iosif takes a few seconds to aim at the blue one, through the door, as he strafes a bit, shoves an alchemical cartridge down the muzzle, and fires. This time, however, it's not in an enclosed boiler, thankfully.
With another fight before them, Elyssa summons forth her psychic powers and searches for something she can throw the red centipede's way. Eventually, her eyes land on a large shard of glass that she quickly lifts into the air and towards the overgrown insect.
Iosif takes a few seconds to aim at the blue one, through the door, as he strafes a bit, shoves an alchemical cartridge down the muzzle, and fires. This time, however, it's not in an enclosed boiler, thankfully.
[ dice=Fire (at Blue)] d20 + 7
[ dice=Damage] d12
Ethyl maneuvers to the the slow centipede and tries to remember anything about these chilopoda.
Disappointed she recalls only basic facts that most everyone surely knows she attempts to ram her dagger into its head.
Alvar grimaces, taking a few steps back. "Bugs? Honestly? Did no one spend any time controlling the pests here?" They gesture with one hand, chanting a few words to send a splash of acid at the closer of the two centipedes. Despite their best efforts, however, the splash strikes the wall next to it instead, sizzling briefly before fading.
Damnation! Should I protect the others again? They bare their teeth in a scowl at the creatures.
"Is this a medical facility or an overgrown vermin zoo?" the sylph complains to nobody in particular, then focuses on the half-elf once more and lets out a quiet, though somehow echoing, sob.
After Iosif's gun clicks meaninglessly, the [red] centipede bites at Alvar but misses. Ethyl's dagger strikes the other centipede, striking surgically and killing the vermin instantly. Alvar's acid and Elyssa's glass shard miss both miss, and Nyarai's sob enacts protective magicks on Ethyl.
Iosif quickly reloads and fires again, this time his musket doesn't miss - or misfire - and the last centipede bursts from the bullet's impact, and this time the gunshot does not deafen Iosif's companions. Anyone who looks back at the barricade sees the guards staring in awe and horror, covering their ears as they watch the group fading into the depths of the hallway.
"That could have gone... considerably worse." Alvar says dryly. "But still, it was well done, Doc- Ethyl, apologies. - and Iosif." They glance down at the dead centipedes, then into the room where they had made their home. If this is the worst we face other than the doppelgängers, then I will be well pleased.
They examine the silver necklace with mild interest, but, finding nothing of particular interest, they swiftly decide to expand their search into what has happened here.
With a quick chant, they summon up a spell to detect magical auras, scanning the room for any signs of what had happened here. This is a good habit to get into, regardless.
Ethyl nods, "But of course my dear. I wonder if they are poisonous, I might be able to craft an anti-venom if I could study it." She takes time to gather samples from the centipedes as well. Ethyl takes the set of manacles.
Iosif takes a look at the gear tokens, wondering what they are.
Iosif looks the tokens over.