As the rotting creature fell to the floor from above, Istivan was forced to concure with Zelda, "That is gross!" before drawing his scimitar and striking at it, before taking a prudent step back.
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"So... I take it a timely rescue of trapped workers was not what just happened." Istivan observes dryly.
"Good job, you guys did it!" Istivan calls up to the group above, then after a pause, "What'd you find?
"We can do it! Look at the chips fly off the wall. Doing a great job there!" Istivan says, trying to keep spirits raised.
Istivan shakes the water from his eyes, "Perhaps if you use the preternaturally hard rapier to scratch the mortar out it will go easier?"
"I've heard of magic that can move and reshape stone, alas such expertise is outside of my grasp. Also unfortunate that the magic tends to be in reshaping the stone, the stone itself is quite mundane, thus it can not be dispelled."
"Umm, maybe I'll keep watch down here" he calls up to those above.
Hands warmed up, Istivan tries the rope again
"MM. I think that may lay outside my expertise, sadly" Istivan remarked. He was both troubled that such things exist and, for a moment at least, glad that the tragedies in his own life were of the more mundane sort. Nevertheless, he was glad to move away from the foul-smelling room. He eyed the rope, gave it a tug to make sure it was secure, then headed up. Or attempted at least, his hands were wet and cold, and he found himself unable to securely grip the rope. He stepped aside, "Head on up, I'm going to warm up a bit" before casting prestidigitation and warming and drying off himself.
Istivan turns to look back in the doorway. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Already walking out the door, Istivan responds, "Good plan. Wasn't there a door across the way where the black... blob thing... was?
The wave of stench that washed over them caused Istivan to blanch. More horrors were on display here, though fortunately they seemed to be deceased. Still no sign of the scratching sound though. "Ugh. This is disgusting, but I think Zelda is right, the scratching sound was above this level."
Istivan grimaced as he once more found himself waist deep in cold, stagnant water. He was regretting suggesting that they look for the source of the scratching, though he still knew it the right thing to do. He checked his sword in it's sheath before readying arrow to string and nodding the Cristoph that he was ready.
"No no, we all have things we deal with, and you can't really help who your parents are. Just took me by surprise." Istivan responded. He grinned, "A hot bath and a cozy bed sound like a good plan to me, I'm ready to get out of these flooded chambers for sure."
Istivan, as discretely as possible, cast prestidigitation on himself to clean up the sweat and after-effects of combat. Looking up from this task, he barely kept himself from bursting out laughing to see the Speaker towed along by Rhia like a little girl with a Ballon. He imagined the Speaker would not find the comparison as amusing. He looks to Aliseya, who appears to have returned to normal. "So...red eyes, the aging routine, creepy language... What's up with that?" he asks.
Istivan is alarmed at Aliseya's appearance, at first fearing she has been somehow injured or cursed. His alarm only grows when, despite not being able to understand her words, she clearly cast some spell on him. It was only the mild reactions of the other companions and the sort of relaxed way in which they said "she does that sometimes" which allowed him to keep his focus and not transition to viewing her as a new potential threat. "Uh sure, I suppose you can call me Iz" he answered Sookie "How's our horticultural situation working out up there guys?" For now, probably just best to ignore Aliseya till she regains her other personality he thought.
Istivan continues to sing the deeds of Anthelo, keeping his bow to hand in case something slips by the front row.
Make sure you all are adding your inspire courage bonuses!
With little to no room in the doorway, Istivan steps back and begins to sing, recounting the deeds of Anthelo, a druid who had committed their life to purge the Worldwound of dangerous and corrupted flora and fauna during the second crusade.
"Definitely sound dangerous to me!" Istivan says, snapping off a shot at the nearest fungus
Istivan smiles at the banter and care expressed between some of the members of the party, clearly indicating some strong bonds between them. As a newcomer, he still felt a bit on the outside, but that will fade with time. He was curious about the Speaker's findings, and agreed that Zelda was best suited to take a look. He kept an eye on her as she climbed, ready with a feather fall should she slip.
Istivan drops his rather useless remaining stones, "Well done. That levitate may be handy to get over there and open the door."
Istivan rears back and tries to aim a throw that wouldn't hit Cristoph, letting lose a stone
Istivan, seeing the events unfolding, quickly looks around for any broken rubble to throw.
"Well, this is... not great. I don't think I have any magic well suited to this, and from the sound those arrows made I'm not sure a sword is going to do it here." Istivan says as he carefully withdraws from the doorway, giving room for others.
"Hrmph" Istivan says, pulling out an arrow and fitting it to his string, a brief second of concentration infused arcane energy into the weapon before releasing.
"Yup, that's bad."
I really wish this forum would allow for email subscriptions. I was just going about my day and was like, wait... how long has it been since I looked to see if there were new posts :p
Istivan nods at Naught's suggestion. "Might be a good idea to shoot it from here, see if it reacts.. or... something."
Istivan sheaths his sword, allowing those with history here time to process. Into the silence he asks, "Are we going back the way we came to get the horses? If so, perhaps we could investigate the door with the scratching. It's probably some horror, but I would hate to think we left someone trapped in there."
With some regret, Istivan draws his sword, takes a graceful step forward, and strikes at Waxwood.
"Unfortunately, I think we'll have to render it inoperable" Istivan says, reading for combat.
Istivan glances sidelong at the Speaker, judging how he is dealing with a ghost manifesting before him.
Istivan had a bad feeling, as if things were escalating, but he had no idea over why. Apparently, something involving the dead woman in the display. He chided himself that he shouldn't be surprised over this, given the involvement of the Whispering Way.
When Aliseya had gasped looking behind Rhia, Istivan had spun to look, his hand dropping to the hilt of his sword, before falling away quizzically as nothing was there. Then Rhia started conversing with someone and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Naught's "This is all fine and normal" was somewhat reassuring, while the count's muttering of treachery was less so. With little else to do, he decided to watch the count for any signs of irrational action.
Unsurprised at the lack of a good horse for sale, Istivan watches the exchange, positioning himself a bit out of the way to the side. Having little input for the events that had transpired before, he maintained a pleasant neutral expression. He did though, keep wondering if it was some poor doomed engineer scratching at the door back there.
Istivan whispers, "Just so, The judge also had a clock with symbols of the order on it." To the count, he says, "Count Caromac, I am Istivan Langa, we have not met before. I find myself without a mount for the journey ahead, and wish to inquire if you had any servicable mounts..." Istivan considers what he has seen here and decides to be more specific, "... That is to say a horse, which you would be willing to sell?"
Istivan looked around, uncomfortable surrounded by the dark, if perhaps brilliant, tools of magic.
he understood the details of what was happening, but none of the context. Nevertheless, he whispered to his companions under the effect of his spell, "Nib imnet hem maa is a phrase from 'The Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye'." Best leave the negotiations to those who have some idea of what is going on here.
Istivan gave the three women who clearly had grief involved in memories here the comfort he could, which is to say the privacy they needed for their thoughts. Instead, he nodded to Christoph and began making his way up the staircase, doing his best to step quietly.
"Some of it appears to be arcane formula, but for what...? The rest of it though makes no sense to me." Istivan says, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Hrm, indeed, sharp eyes. As to what it means... I'm at a loss." Istivan admits with a shrug. Istivan gestures for a moment
Then studies the writing anew.
Happy Easter to those who celebrate it.
Picking up on the fact that the memories of this place were unsettling, Istivan decided moving forward would be better than lingering, nodding at Zelda, he says "Certainly seems to be our best lead at the moment." before following her up the stairs.
Istivan says, "Look here count, we mean you no harm. Just trying to find a way to bring mounts across the river here. I think some of these companions you know" he gestures behind him "And they wished to check in on you as well." There, that's a peaceful enough message he thinks, with some satisfaction.
Istivan opens the door the rest of the way and steps inside to the side, making room for others to come in behind him.
Hrm, someone had magically sealed that door at some point "There was a homunculus in here. If it is still here and belongs to the count, he will hear and see what it sees." Istivan covers his eyes briefly chanting, then lowers his hand
Istivan faces the great doors, casting a spell and inspecting for magic. If he finds none, he will try the handles to see if they are locked, if not, he will cautiously open them a crack.
Istivan nods, "Right, if nothing in the tower, we can try to knock that thing loose" he says to Cristoph. Moving slowly and steadily, he sets off across the bridge to the tower.
Istivan walks towards the eastern door, casting Open/Close to attempt to open it from a distance.
Istivan has been trying to gain consensus on which way to go, as it makes the least sense for him to be guiding the party at this point. But if no one else is in a position to post regularly at this time I'll just start moving us until we hit combat or someone objects. I'll give some time for Zelda to move towards door 1 before I start moving.
I had a post disappear after posting, then it turned back up. posts have been fixed using the spellcraft rolls from the first post
"I don't have a horse, so I would lean towards moving on towards the exit." He smiles, "However I fully support looking for a way to bring your mounts along"
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