Paige Carlisle's page

Caromarc - Paige Carlisle gazes fondly at the monk. "You're cute, muscles. But like I always said, it would never work out between us."

She turns her attention to Lord Caromarc. "Good job you did up there," she says, indicating where the Tower stood. "Hey...not to blindside you, but I have a proposition you might find unexpected." She goes on to say that she is the only surviving member of Der Salon Freiheit und Nonchalance Nekromantie zu üben. She was wondering if Caromarc would like to restart the Salon...a rehabilitated, non-villianous organization...devoted to high-level magic and spellcasting. "I mean, now that you're unattached..." she nods, motioning to the Caromarc's former construct who is now shadowing La Siréene.

"And also..." She reaches up and gingerly touches her scarred face. Her hand jerks away, the pain and shock still fresh. Her eyes fall on Caromarc's pale skin, tracing the path of stitches on his features. "I think we might understand each other a little better than before. Who says a girl can't learn the error of her ways?"

Paige Carlisle wears a bandage around her head, over her right eye, as a makeshift eyepatch. Her once pretty features are bruised and battle-scarred. She directs your attention to a group of drow in the distance, huddled in a circle with their backs to you, looking at someone lying on the ground in their midst. "Madchën fought bravely, with the strength of a hundred drow. But she did not make it," she announces sadly. "Her drow followers are already arguing over who will take over the business and lead them." She shakes her head. "Do not interrupt or blame them though. It's just the way of their nature."

In her sardonic tone - "Well, here goes nothing..."

Paige Carlisle casts mirror image, creating several decoys of herself. More powerful than the normal spell, the decoys cast mirror image and create decoys of decoys, and then decoys of them...until the streets are filled with hundreds of Paige Carlisles! This is the second defensive perimeter - an army of identical sorceresses.

They send a barrage of fireballs and magic missiles against the undead!

Paige Carlisle steps forward. "The four of us..." she glances at S with a little frown "...I mean the three of us and her..." (S's sabotage at the Salon of Sorcerers clearly remains fresh in Paige's mind) "have been working on a little project."

"You defeated a dragon and sold its carcass to Sabina. She worked with the materials, discovering they held residual magic from Hareton's experiments. Using dragonscale, thread, and her tailoring skill, she happened to craft a unique set of bracers.

"Volst went to the future, and learned the necromantic battery would be needed, and that it needs a power source. He was able to send a message back to me in the present, explaining all of this. Because of my family's wealth, he asked me to fund a purchase from Sabina. (There was also desperation in this, seeing that I was his last surviving fellow sorcerer from the salon.) I went to Sabina's shop and bought the bracers. At that point, we also brought Sabina into the plan."

She smiles at Quinn and Blackacre. "You two chased me from the shop when I went to retrieve the bracers. You gave quite a chase."

The sorceress presents a box wrapped in string. She removes the string, opens the box, and displays a set of black bracers, speckled with stars.

"Behold, the Eternity Bracers."

She places the bracers on Baron Volst's wrists.

...the sorceress, Paige Carlisle...

Paige leans in and pats Quinn's cheek. "Time will tell if your choice was wise, Muscles. I'm going home." She gathers her skirt, goes into the hall, opens the front door, and is gone.

Paige licks her teeth and flares her nostrils in frustration. "I stood down so you wouldn't kill me, Muscles, but I know Ludo better than you. He'll be mad, but as you see, I have tricks up my sleeve. I'll be okay. Thanks for the invite. We could've maybe had a good time together, but the moment has passed. Let's chalk this up to harsh life experience and go our separate ways."

"Restoratives and emergency equipment? No, not really."

Paige rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue against her teeth. "What do you want? If you want me to open it, you'll have to untie my hands."

"I'll take my chances with Ludo," Paige replies. "Just get rid of the evidence. Dump the bodies behind the house or something to buy me some time. I'm staying here."

Paige accepts back her jewelry with sullen pride. She juts her chin to the other lounge across the hall. "There's a wardrobe in there filled with robes and traveling-wear. Nothing too fancy, but it will do for your friend."

She looks into the distance and tilts her head, imagining. "Mmm...it is nice when Ludo buys me things." She looks to Sandru again. "I can't worry about all that, and neither should you. If you're asking my loyalties, when he's not being a jerk Ludo's okay."

10 minutes sounds about right.

"You want my clothes!" Paige gasps. "You already have my gold and jewels. Haven't you people taken enough of my things?" She gives a petulant harumph and turns away from you. "I did have quarters," she says quietly, still looking away. "But they're behind Ludo's barrier. None of us are getting in there now."

"Ludo bailed on me. He will retaliate against me when he finds out that I didn't kill you. It's to my benefit for you to get the upper-hand on him and prevent that. I'm not your ally, but like I said, I'm out for self-preservation. So, I know it's difficult under these circumstances, but you can trust what I'm telling you is true."

"I'm not holding out on you here, but the only way you could bring down those barriers is by killing Ludo. It's his spell. But who knows where he disappeared off to?" She smiles to herself, remembering when Ludo teleported S away.

"Alas, poor Xa."

Paige shoots a contemptuous look at the monk. "Don't condescend to me! Well, believe it, handsome! We didn't cause the waves of undead. We only sought to control them and use it to our advantage." Her nostrils flare. "And really, isn't that what you expected me to confess?" She shakes her head. "Well, it doesn't matter. It is true."

"You think Ludo confided his deep, dark secrets to the arm candy?" Paige snarls at Ianez and Quinn. "I was relegated to that role the moment I showed up here. The vault was some sort of thing between him and Reeva. She was the one who invented it and created all of the magic involved. Crazy Reeva!" She snorts in derision. "Don't get me wrong. She was powerful as a hundred hells." Paige flips her hair again. Her gown slips a little ways off her shoulder. She looks even more ravishing if possible, now that she's casted herself as a damsel-in-distress. "I say 'was'. I assume you put an end to her too."

She shrugs resignedly and continues. "From what I guessed of the vault, Reeva's trick involved her killing and resurrecting herself to pass back and forth across the threshold. I think the vault was in the afterlife...whatever that meant. I wasn't in the lounge when your pals died, so I can't speak to that. But odds are Reeva did some creep-o thing with spirits or undead or something that killed them. Probably the ghosts of those halflings she butchered. That would be her style."

"Ugh!" Paige retorts. She kneels, stumbles on her high-heeled shoe and loses her balance slightly, then steadies herself with her hand and lowers herself to the floor. She keeps her hands where you can see them. She frowns at Quinn. It is clear that the woman is hard as nails.

Paige has removed herself from combat, so we'll end taking turns in initiative order.

The last remaining sorceress sees Ianez open the doors to the lounge. She surmises correctly what must have happened to Melanie and Dex, and comes out of invisibility. You can see that she now stands at the base of the stairs. She flips the end of her hair back over her shoulder and raises her chin haughtily.

"Okay, okay!" she says. "I know when I'm outnumbered. I know when I'm fighting a losing battle. I don't care what Ludo says, this isn't worth it! I give up. You win." She raises her hands in surrender. "I want to take you up on your offer. Don't kill me. I want to live." She looks sidelong at the Mechanical Manservant. "Make the construct stand down. Get it away from me!"

Paige reappears at V-12.

It's Quinn's turn.

The chandelier screeches against the sparking barrier as it crushes down against the spell, and the spell absorbs some of the damage. The Mechanical Manservant is buried under a heap of bent metal and crystal shards, and is knocked prone.

The chandelier inflicted 10 damage. The ablative barrier converted 5 points of damage to nonlethal, so MM takes the remaining 5 damage.

While the monk avoids the falling danger, the Mechanical Manservant is not so lucky. The last chandelier at the end of the hall crashes down on him!

The chandeliers come crashing down, two by the front door, one above the manservant...and one above Quinn! The monk responds quickly in his catlike stance. He dodges just in time to avoid the wrecked metal and rain of shattering glass.

Quinn's turn.

At the end of the hall, at the base of the grand staircase, a chain unhooks from the wall. There's a fast rattling of metal links as the row of large chandeliers in the hallway is sent crashing down on top of the Mechanical Manservant and Quinn!

The chain unhooked from the wall at X-12. Quinn and MM each make a Reflex save.

Paige leans forward out of an instinct of self-preservation. She is creeped out at the sight of the industrial-looking horror that the construct behind her has suddenly turned into. She looks at Quinn. "Let's play a game of cat and mouse." Despite the duress, she manages to cast invisibility on herself.

One moment she's standing there...the next moment, she's gone.

MM gets an AoO?

It is Quinn's turn. You can make a Perception check to locate Paige first, just attack where you think she is, or whatever you want to do.

The first arrow shoots down the hall, but catches torque so that it misses the sorceress and her duplicates. It nicks the ear of the image on the left...which doesn't flinch as one normally would. Quinn is able to tell that it's an illusion. It winks out.

The second arrow pierces the image on the right. The image wavers like a signal tuning out. It also disappears.

The third arrow hits the real Paige square in the abdomen. She staggers back a step. "Unh!" She cricks her neck, wrenches out the arrow, and flings it aside. "Really?" she says. "That was your best shot? Don't make this too easy for me."

She wriggles her fingers to cast another spell.

Paige takes 17 damage.

It is Caromarc's turn.

Paige smirks at Quinn. "You're just one of those guys who thinks..." she casts mirror image and unfolds like paper dolls into 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 copies of herself "...he can get all all the girls the girls?" The Paige(s) lift their skirts and tumble down the hall towards the balcony (to W-17).

Quinn's turn.

Paige sneers at Quinn. "I knew I didn't know you."

At the sound of Hareton's scream, Paige smiles. "Thaat's my cue."

She girlishly tilts her wrist back and snaps.

Paige looks ready to take Quinn up on his offer. She links her arm with his. But then she hears the commotion in the lounge, and the lamp hit the floor. "What is that? What's going on in there?" she says, frowning. She breaks away and squeezes past Quinn and the Mechanical Manservant, heading towards the lounge.

Paige slaps Quinn playfully across the cheek. "You're bad. You'll fit in here quite nicely." She looks the manservant up and down. "You bring your own chaperone? I guess that's sort of cute."

"C'mon," says the sorceress, taking Quinn's hand. "Let's go back to the party in the lounge. I want to give your girlfriend dirty looks."

When Quinn and the Mechanical Manservant enter the hallway, instead of Melanie, they meet Paige Carlisle heading towards the lounge. She smiles a lascivious grin.

"Well, well, well..." She sashays up to Quinn, wraps her hands on one of his biceps, and leans in. When she speaks, she blows her breath like a little wind on his neck. "You couldn't bear to be without me," she coos. "I have to admit, I feel exactly the same way." She glances at the manservant, a little surprised. "You brought a robot?"

"Sure!" Paige says. She jumps from her chair, and the two run off together into the mansion.

"I guess I do know you," Paige says. She watches La Siréene cross to the bar. "I don't know how, but I guess it's true." She falls back in her chair, snorts in boredom, waves the question away. "Eh, who cares?" She holds up her empty glass and looks at the dregs. "I need more wine."

Paige looks at you with confusion. "I don't think that I know them."