Shark moves up and takes a bite at the big creature.
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The elemental rages toward the skeleton on the left .
Meanwhile, the other two elementals lunge at the armored skeleton.
”Nobody has forced your hand, monster,” Beorae whispers under her breath. Stepping onto the landing, she begins another summoning chant.
"I don't know... But it said that phrase and the door opened. I don't think we should let him get away, though... He can only get stronger, right?" "Oh, and Themp, maybe these would be useful against the skeletons? They're not much, but the arrows seem to be glancing off of them." Beorae hands Themp her sling and bullets (20x).
”I do not like this at all… these are notes about the dream I had… and things that happened to me as a child! We should not believe anything we see in this place. And we should not linger here… Ithalgol is only gaining strength.” Turning to go, Beorae tries to relay what she heard the skeleton say at the door. ”The skeleton said…”
The elemental and Shark both strike at the remaining skeleton.
Beorae realizes that the flames are nearing the drawer that are supposed to contain the notes.
She then casts Light on herself as she steps into the next room. ”Nme'an… come look at this,” she says, indicating the parchment with her name on it. ”This makes no sense… how…?” The druidess looks around the now-lit room.
”Time is short, we must hurry. We can’t let him escape!”
Two elementals rumble up on either side of the remaining skeleton, large fists flailing.
Meanwhile, Beorae moves up past Shark into the doorway of the darkened room. Menacing the skeleton next to her, Beorae tries to discern if there are more threats in the next room. Shark and the third elemental converge on the remaining foe in their room.
Beorae is able to complete her spell, and as the final words leave her lips, Small Earth Elementals pop into existence between her and Themp with a grinding roar! They immediately rush into the fray, two following Nme'an into the main room, and one turning to the newcomers. The first elemental attacks the skeleton nearest to Nme'an.
The second elemental rumbles up to the skeleton nearest to the burning table and swings its heavy stone arm at the foe.
"Themp, those arrows aren't doing anything to these guys... We need to hit them with something... bigger." With the words hardly out of her mouth, the third elemental roars fiercely at the closest skeleton and slams its fist into the enemy's skull.
Beorae's eyes go wide. "Yeah... um, like that!" Beorae directs Shark to attack from the other side. The weakened tiger moves up and snaps at the other skeleton.
Finally, drawing her healing wand, Beorae slips into the doorway and puts her hand on Nme'an's back, channeling healing energy from the wand into the paladin.
The druidess holds her hand out to Nme’an and channels healing energy into the paladin.
She says quietly to him, ”I’m going to try to summon some help, but it’s going to take a moment…”
Beorae watches Ilthalgol, trying to determine what spell he might be casting.
---
The druidess hurls the first vial at the big hulk
Just before the Paladin opens the door, Beorae reaches into her backpack and pulls out three vials. Uncorking one, she kneels down next to Shark. ”Here, drink this,” she says, holding the vial of Magic Fang up to the tiger for him to smell. She helps her companion drink the potion and when the liquid is gone, she puts the empty bottle back in her pack and stands. In her right hand, she holds two vials of Alchemist’s Fire.
”Ithalgol is afraid of us!” Beorae mutters under her breath, eyes darting across the script on the page in surprise. ”And I agree, we must try to finish this here and now. Taking the pages won’t solve the real problem that ails our King. And vampires… ugh.” The druidess reaches into her pocket and rolls the smaller Pearl of Power between her fingers, concentrating on her Faerie Fire spell. ”Let’s go. Nme’an, lead on.”
"Wait… one of these scrolls is for Invisibility! We could make Themp invisible…" Beorae thinks for a moment. "Or! I suppose we could make me invisible… My goal is to get to the chair and destroy it. If I could do that without being detected, that might be a good use for it." She looks up from the parchment at her companions, curious to hear their thoughts.
With the scroll case open, the druidess holds out her hand expectantly. "Here, let me check those out. There's one in here that I couldn't figure out earlier." Unfurling each scroll in turn, Beorae inspects the magical writing to determine what each spell is.
Beorae picks up the Pearl of Power and stores it in a pocket, being sure to keep it separate from her first Pearl of Power to avoid confusion later on. Deciding that the scroll case isn't itself enchanted, Beorae tosses it to Themp. "Think you can get this open?" Finally, she picks up the ring and hands it to Nme'an. "This ring will never let you fall fast enough to become injured. Might as well wear it." Looking at the doors, the druidess calls Shark to her side. "Let's get on with it, then."
Three auras inside the case:
Amber ring:
Pearl:
Active spell at the top of the stairs:
As she's working, Beorae warns her companions about the curious spell at the top of the stairs.
"Yeah… I know," she responds, but doesn't look directly at the rogue. "The vampire controlled your mind, just like it said in the book. There was nothing you could do about it. Well, vampire spawn, I suppose. He didn't try to turn into a bat or anything. I think this means that we're going to have to meet his boss upstairs." The druidess continues to heal her and Shark's wounds as she talks. "I don't relish that thought. Nme'an, can you do anything about a spell of Protection from Evil? I don't know how much more backstabbing I can take."
Seeing the hurt look on Themp's face, Beorae knows her attempt at a joke didn't land quite right. Finally looking Themp in the eyes, she adds, "Seriously, I know you'd never hurt us if you had control. We need our heads on straight for what's ahead. You okay?" Finally, she leans over the remains of Duridel, careful not to touch anything, and holding out her fiery hand as a light source.
"Is he good?! I got stabbed, you know, right here!" Beorae holds her side, wincing. "And you got bitten… We should take a look at that. I think he was just a vampire spawn, not the real thing, but still…" Keeping the flames in her hand for the time being, Beorae draws her wand and attempts to heal some of her wounds.
With a short sigh, Beorae looks from Themp to the melee. She hurls another fireball at the vampire. ”Glad to have you back. Now, help!” Shark wrestles, attempting to again gain control of the vampire.
Seeing Themp attempt to slide past, Beorae jams out her leg, hoping to trip or slow him down enough to keep him out of the battle.
“Gah!” Beorae exclaims as Themp’s blade once again slices Beorae’s armor and skin. Nme’an’s sudden peril, however, draws the druidess’s attention.
Shark immediately rounds on the vampire, attempting to tear it off of Nme’an.
Keeping an eye on Duridel, Beorae spots the parchment and immediately hurls a ball of fire at it.
Shark roars and reduces the skeleton in front of him to rubble.
Beorae ducks low to get out of Duridel's sight. "Ignis!" She snaps her fingers and fire fills her palm. With a snarl, Shark once again strikes at the skeletons in front of him.
"Gah!" Beorae yells as the sharp bones rake her arm. She takes a short step back and Shark fills the gap, teeth and claws bared. He lunges at the skeleton who had attacked Beorae .
Beorae, focused on Duridel, flourishes her hand and hisses a quick incantation. "Themp, shoot him!," she mutters over her shoulder.
Beorae follows close behind. "Je! Hii ni maoni mazuri?," she whispers hurriedly to her armored companion. Elven: "Is this a good idea?"
Hesitantly, Beorae steps forward with Shark at her side, more for keeping close to the paladin than any other reason. Speaking up, she asks, "And why should we follow you? Your master is our enemy and the root of evil in these lands." Shark growls threateningly at the skeletons, shoulders crouched low and golden eyes darting between foes.
"I think we should go upstairs," Beorae whispers. "Themp, is the way trapped at all? This place gives me the creeps."
"I'm going to guess that, yes, he is, and was already dead. Poor guy…" Beorae straightens herself and looks around the room once again. "I wasn't expecting it to be so quiet in here. This is unsettling. Either of you have any suggestions?"
"Hmm… not much here. Vampires can turn into bats and wolves, it seems. And silver weapons won't help us, but I don't think we even have any of those." The druidess continues her quick reading, aware of the fact that time is probably of the essence. "Oh, and here it talks about vampire spawn, which are different than actual vampires. The spawn drink blood, but are lesser creatures that cannot change form or spread the vampiric curse, and thus can't create new vampires. The spawn can still use mind control on their foes, though." She closes the book and puts it back on the shelf. Beorae looks at the body on the floor and asks the obvious question, "Do you think he could be a vampire spawn? I'm not sure how we could even test such a thing."
Beorae pulls the encyclopedia volume from the shelf and looks for information on vampires.
"Vampires?!" Beorae says, taking a half step back from the body as she sees the bite marks. "I've heard of vampire hunters before, but all I know is rumor and myth. Don't they use wooden stakes? And I think vampires hate garlic. Or so I've heard…" her voice trails off as she begins to scan the library, looking to see if there's an obvious section where she could look up vampires.
Beorae pushes the left door open, Shark at her side. As she takes in the unsettling calm, she notices the body across the room and focuses her attention on it.
Beoare shoots Nme'an a sideways glance when Noe mentions Gregor, but remains silent. "Thank you, Master Noe," the druidess says as the old man finishes. She stands upright, stretching her back, and calls Shark to her side. "Strange, I had a dream about the Komat Mountains… and my old druid mentor. It was very… surreal." Looking around the room one last time, Beorae nods, "Aye, let's go."
Beorae's shoulders relax when it Noe suggests that Dacius is who he appeared to be at the outset of their journey. And she nods her head at his guidance for spell preparation. "My first question, sir, is about Themp's shortbow," she says, turning to Themp and holding out her hand to ask for the weapon. Cautiously hesitant at first, the rogue eventually offers the bow to Beorae, who turns back to Noe, running her fingers along the smooth, finely-crafted limbs. Focusing her attention back on the dwarf, she continues, "It was crafted by a dryad of the wood nearby and imbued with some sort of magical powers, but I have had trouble understanding its exact function. During our fight with the elemental, it seemed to behave like an Oathbow of the elves of Carenthir, seeking vengeance against the elemental when it caught Themp on fire and he shouted at the creature. But I only know of Oathbows by their legend, so I cannot be certain that this one matches that description. Might you have some insight for us?" "And my second question... there was a wizard in the tower who departed shortly before we arrived. He took Prince Titus with him. Do you know where they are going, and what condition the Prince is in? We have been charged with returning the Prince to Thaleniel if at all possible. I'm afraid that our foes seem to be a few steps ahead of us, and we've been playing catch-up since we began our quest."
"Don't misunderstand me, Nme'an – Ithalgol cannot be left to become a power of evil, and dealing with him is our task at the moment. You and I are together on that. But we only have a short time to learn what we can from Master Noe. I think it would be kijinga to ignore his wisdom and guidance." Elven: foolish
"If what you say is true, then there is no magical tome with the spell we seek. If Ithalgol's undying spell is in fact an undead spell, then we cannot bring that back to save King Thadeus. And what if…" Beorae breaks off, her blue-green eyes darting back and forth in intense thought. After a few moments, she looks back at the dwarf, a mask of concern glooming over her usually cheerful features. "How far does your vision reach, Master Noe? Do you know of Court Wizard Mortimer Dacius in Thaleniel? The one who sent us on our mission?"
The druidess mulls over Themp's query. I did hear the bow, but what could it mean?
"Certainly. And I'm glad that counterspell worked!" Beorae feels a small moment of triumph well up insider her at being able to dispel the fiery elemental's magics in such short order. She makes her way around the room, seeing to the party's wounds.
As Beorae works, the four elementals, now without anything to do, move off to a corner of the room and start bickering with one another. One earth elemental bonks another on the head, while the third tries to poke the air elemental with his fist, but gets thrown across the room for his efforts. The grumble of rock and wind sounds fade after a time as they all pop back to the planes from whence they came.
"Curse it!"
Nme'an's words cut through the remnants of smoke and Beorae props herself up with her forearms. That sounds like my Heat Metal spell…
Beorae coughs as she pulls herself up. "Nme'an, if this doesn't work, we're going to have to get you out of that armor fast." She focuses on the knight and casts what she hopes is a counter-spell.
Finally, she turns to the newly-appeared dwarf, and in response to his question, says, "No, I don't think we 'know what we must do'. Are you Noe, the one who left us the note?"
"Umm... Themp... I think you made it angry," Beorae says. Hand still on Themp's shoulder, she mutters a brief incantation before carefully stepping backward.
Seeing the creature menace Beorae, Shark pounces forward and attempts to grapple the large, fiery monster.
The slow-moving elementals lumber across the floor, but only one one is able to close the gap enough to make an attack.
The first elemental has a clear path and charges headlong into its target.
The small creature appears to be a bit over-zealous, however, and manages to completely whiff the attack. The other two follow the first, but more carefully, and attempt to land blows of their own.
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