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Seeing the last choker choke, de Sibelius rushes to Lazlo, "Are you all right, you had me worried there. Please I don't want to have to write your obituary, however brave and audacious your actions are, keeping you alive to become the owner of this manor is .. most important." The gnome tends to the mans wounds, with bandages and poultices. Once all is quiet and the group get a chance to sleep and regroup, de Sibelius starts to dream of Tchekuth..
Religion:
It's a problem well known to gnomes, humanoids always have difficulty with their names, even the easy names.... :-) Good job he hasn't given his gnomish name ... even I can't remember that... And I didn't take note of how his first name was created... it was supposed to be something like a man whose word cannot be trusted.. but I can't remember exactly the words that got translated.
Climbing on the table, de Sibelius gets a better view of the choker and quietly calls to the gods to aid his companions.
Still eyes wide in abit of a panic, de Sibelius flaps his arms as he comes over to Laurel. "But you're on fire, oh dear, oh dear. Laurel you're on fire, can't you feel it!" He starts to look around the room for a thick curtain or the like, I could wrap it around him and stop the fire! The gnome continues to search for something useful.
de Sibelius, sighs with relief as Lazlo shuts the door, Don't loose him, he'll pay good gold when I can hand the deeds to him he thinks to himself.
"No, no Lazlo" the gnome says aghast as his client tries to jump into the other room to take on the strong deadly foe. "Shut the door, bar the thing from coming back in until we've saved Laurel." The colour seems to drain from de Sibelius' thinking that Lazlo will be on his own against the big nasty chocker in the other room. He looks back to see Laurel desperate for breath. In a panic he conjures up a small ball of fire and throws it at the creature holding Laurel, whilst maintaining his compulsion to weaken the attacks of the creature.
Have a nice vacation .... hope its a good one ... oh all vacations are good!!!
de Sibelius calls on the powers of the legal minds that gave him his magical powers to draw up a contracts to dissuade his enemies from violence against his companions. A spectral hand takes a purple shadowy scroll, that enters the chocker's head bargaining with the creatures will to continue with it's violent actions. The gnome calls out, "DON'T FIGHT THE BLUE ONE, UNTIL IT IS VIOLENCT AGAINST US, I WILL KEEP IT CALM IF I CAN." He then instructs Fundin "Take it out on that thing, let it feel your disgust at the creature's evil ways, I will be in your debt to keep you well."
de Sibelius says some magic words and points at the red throat grabbing creature and presses a cold and black spell onto it's flesh, burning and attempting to take the life force from the creature.
Hearing Galimus' warning, de Sibelius reacts and lands his own chubby fingers around his neck, "Oh No, Oh No!!"
Hearing the commotion, de Sibelius shrugs and shouts "Are you in trouble agin, let me see if I can help." He walks as briskly as his legs will carry him into the room, quickly going behind Fundin and giving a good looking at the strange creatures.
"Linen, did someone say linen...." the gnome starts out of his train of thought. With a bustle, his legs move swiftly in the way busy bodies do. He shoves his way past Fundin, "Now it may seem unimportant but ...." he looks up and feels the linen to get an idea of it's quality, if even after all these years it could be used. Oh so like home, nestle in between nice clean linen sheets, cool and clean, sleep so comfy. He takes his equipment out to add it to the inventory. As Fundin holds the walls, de Sibelius returns the favour and leads the dwarf from the small linen store. "You dwarves, you got sensitive feet, feeling any tremor that runs through the earth, as though it's the last. That's all it is, you felt some small tremor and made it an earthquake, it's all right now just calm down." He lets Fundin stand a moment, before returning to the linen store and continuing his inventory, and taking some sheets for "quality assessment."
The gnome is easily taken by Fundin out of the room, he offers no resistance, just quivers and shakes. Opening his eyes, he sees the bearded dwarven face as he mechanically accepts the canteen and starts to drink, dripping water on the carpet. He looks up and is relieved to see a ceiling above the room. He stays in the room as he watches Fundin head back and de Sibelius gingerly looks inside another bedroom, seeing the ceiling and everything as it might be left in its correct place. He sighs with relief, "Onwards then...." he says with fake bravado.
de Sibelius looks on as Laurel runs around yelling, before running into the footlocker. He shrugs as Lazlo and Galimus tend to the boys head wound. Then something catches his eye and he looks upwards. His jaw drops as he looks up, his head bent backwards concentrating at something above. For minutes he just stands transfixed by what he sees above him. Slowly he brings an arm up, his finger pointing up, "Oooh look, is that the Thrush?" he says with incredulity staring upwards. He turns his head to the right and his finger draws some sort of shape in the air as it points upwards, "And the Rider ..... my isn't it magnificent." As you watch, his face takes on a different countenance, a fear in his eyes, as he says "No, no, it's not me you seek, I'm just here to provide the means of transferring the ownership of this magnificent mansion to my client. It's purely the law...." His voice is quivering and breaking up as he almost whispers the last of the words. He quickly lowers is head, cowering, making himself small so that he cannot be seen.
de Sibelius is once more in his element amongst the tomes and writings about the Ashen Man, but he seems to have misplaced his way and instead learns more about an Oaken Man...... before grumbling about the system used in this Library for ordering the manuscripts.
Whilst the others are being healed by Fundin, de Sibelius starts to look and research the books and manuscripts in the room, in particular he is interested in 'The Ashen Man'. "Leave me alone, just let me take some time to do this whilst you all let Fundin look after you."
"Is it safe?" asks the barrister with a quavering voice, unsure of the paintings and the room. Once several others have been in the room for a moment or two, he suddenly becomes full of bravado. "OK, right now let's see these paintings now, I think it's in our best interest if we catalog them now. That way we don't need to come back again, just in case you know...." He takes note the paintings: of a teenaged boy carrying a crossbow in the woods; a teenaged girl building a dollhouse that looks like Xarwin Manor; a red-haired woman standing in a graveyard, carrying a pair of matching crimson-handled woodcutter’s hatchets hanging from her belt straps, ravens swarming around her; and a stern-looking man holding a silver telescope in his hands as he looks up into the night sky. As he finishes his inventory he tries to recall anything familiar about any of the portraits.
The little gnome calls Fundin to him, as he tears up some bandages and starts to bind and help stop Fundin's bleeding.
GM: Did the previous assisted recovery work so that Lazlo gets 2 flat checks at the end of this turn? If assisted recovery isn't working then de Sibelius will do something different this round.
The little gnome seeing Lazlo bleeding from several wounds, quickly strides across to his client and presses the wounds together, bind his leg with Lazlo's belt to create a tourniquet for his leg, reducing the flow of blood. "Don't worry, it'll soon stop, Lazlo, it'll be fine." he says without conviction.
de Sibelius, manages to help Laurel close some of his wounds, but the effort makes de Sibelius retch, as he tries to regain his composure again. He manages to feel slightly better, although the nausea continues.
The bleeding portraits have a severe effect on de Sibelius, his stomach turns as he tries to keep his breakfast in his stomach. Words do not escape his lips, just a low groaning. He leaves the room, or rather staggers out, not looking back, his eyes glazed over in pain.
Following Fundin into the room, de Sibelius is at once taken by the full sized paintings, "My word in the name of Asmod....." his voice trickles to silence as he realises what he is saying. recovering he is about to start talking again when a cold wind, makes the hackles on his back stand on end. "You said spirits, well begone!!" he says force-ably with the weight of law behind him. As he then helps Zoi by sprinkling salt over Laurel.
De Sibelius listens to the words spoken, "Hmmm, you say the spiral of Pharesma, interesting she who judges, she who sends her messengers...." Then when Fundin finds a hidden passage, he can't control himself, "A hidden passage, Oh that is exciting, there was nothing like this on the documents I received." He bounds towards Fundin and the hidden door. He stops as he gets to Fundin, passing lots of tomes, "Oh golly, all these tomes, words of knowledge! I do like a good book or do we go forward
de Sibelius does his best to extricate himself from Laurels sudden embrace and tears, somewhat embarrassed by the sudden show of emotion. "Yes, Yes, not don't cry ... and let me go ... I'll try and find the bird ..." He pulls himself away from Laurel and looks around at everyone, brushing his coat back down smooth again, smiling weakly as he does. He then starts around the room, tapping on the walls, almost apologetically, shrugging his shoulders. That is until he suddenly stops, blinks his eyes inside his glasses and says "I found it, where the bird is, a secret door on the north wall to the right of the fireplace, just here!" He looks back astonished at the rest of the party.
de Sibelius notices two more doors as the search the room, "Ooh, more rooms though here, perhaps we should take the right one before we delve to the left?" he states and asks at the same time. "Assuming nothing else untowards happens here." he says, safety first.
De Sibelius looks astonished at Lazlo speaking to no-one, Has he lost his mind?!? before he sees the fiery skeletal features appear and disappear quickly, seemingly at Fundin's dwarven command. "You sure it's safe Fundin?" the gnome asks before he enters the chamber and takes a good look around, searching for magical energies that might exist.
"Maybe, but what if they are friendly and can provide some useful information?" asks the lawyer, always looking for more knowledge about this mansion.
"Where are you off to now?" the gnome says with alarm as he realises the others in the party move on into the next room. He watches as Fundin starts to pry open the doors as Lazlo boldly moves forward.
As for the paintings, de Sibelius is happy to leave them in the house as a part of their value will be added to the charges his firm make to Lazlo, from his point of view.
With Galimus pointing to the first picture, de Sibelius' face is flushed with pride, "Home!" he says most distinctly, "though Egorian is probably a little changed since that was done." He stays a while longer studying the picture, trying to recognise important buildings and places, hoping to see where Sibelius, Sibelius and Grieg have their offices, but to no avail. As Galimus wanders off, not paying particular attention to the rest of the pictures, de Sibelius calls "No Galimus, these paintings are ... well wonderful ... I mean take in the brush work ... oh the colours of .... well they could probably do with a bit of restoration ... they are a bit grey, no very grey in places ... but I bet it's the dirt of ages ...." the gnome continues to walk slowly around the chamber, looking up at the walls, pointing and raising his specs every so often. Occasionally he lifts his specs off his nose and extends his arm and moves them closer to the canvas to take a good long look.
"Look at the way the artist has caught the lines of these whippoorwills, it's almost as if you can see them moving. So clever and ...." he calls over Lazlo, quietly whispering in his ear, "And worth more than one or 2 gold pieces I would warrant."
"I'm coming, don't leave me near that creepy staircase." says the gnome, his hands shaking a little after the eerie sound. He follows the others.
"Yes Yes, perhaps another hour or two with the books" says de Sibelius enthusiastically over breakfast as egg yolk trickles into his beard.
De Sibelius sleeps soundly, though if you were awake you would hear strange utterances in his sleep, "Alright, we are you all...." then a snore. "See I've made a nice fire....you shouldn't stay away, come back..." His sleep becomes more restless, "See Asmodeus has granted us his fire, it doesn't burn, the fire never ceases ..... " Once more he falls into his sleep.... Yet as the minutes pass, a peaceful look comes over his face and he sleeps soundly. But it doesn't last, slowly his face twitches ....... his restlessness increases, until he opens his eyes which are full of fear...."No! NO!" he shouts out, as he suddenly looks around... "Oh, sorry ... just another dream I think...." he pulls his covers over his head as though hiding from some invisible enemy.
De Sibelius finds a nice space that allows him to make a cosy place to sleep, with his spectacles placed carefully on a small chair to keep them safe. He wonders about the owners of the house and the why should builders have disappeared during the final or after the final preparations. Even as he wonders, his eyes slowly close and he looses himself to sleep.
Whilst Fundin is asleep with a book on his lap, de Sibelius takes a quick peek at the subject, before searching the shelves for more information. "If these creatures are attracted here by a break in the circle of life and death, then they may have left some clue. I mean what would put it right, apart from fixing the circle. Now if I could add a few clauses into the contract regarding our work in restoring the mansion back to Lazlo, but with the circle restored, that must provide extra profit." the gnome scratches his head. Picking the tome, Through the eye of a Pharesman de Sibelius gets down to another reading session, but he doesn't seem to get very far, before becoming very confused as the words and letters seem to meld into one.
"What really, is it time to go back, but these books, so many ...so little time!" the gnome says quite perplexed as he tramps up and down the bookshelves trying to find the most interesting and insightful tomes. "But we can come straight back here in the morning right?" he looks hopefully at the rest of the group. "But if we have to go rest up, we might as well go back to that village again, at least I slept well there last night." he beams at his companions, a smile extending right across his face. "After all I don't want to find more furniture roaming about the house trying to eat me whilst I sleep!"
In this new chamber, de Sibelius is in his element once more .... he lifts his specs to his forehead as he blinks, eyes wide open and looks around. Replacing his specs he says "Yes yes, oh yes, this is it .... let me look ... oh yes..."
de Sibelius watches as the others disappear into another room. He pokes his head around the corner, but it seems quite full with just three of the group already in there. No space at all...I just want to take a look in case there are any more tomes .... ah they are so eager to explore so quickly, they forget to explore with their minds. He waits, impatiently outside, his toe tapping, but as he sees Zois shuffling items on the shelves, the gnomes face turns red .... "Umm! ... Oh!...When you've quite finished rummaging around in there, I'd like a few moments to inspect the shelves for any books or parchments of interest." he says pointedly as he does his best to restrain himself from bursting in...
De Sibelius adjusts his spectacles as he eventually closes the leather bound book with a resounding muffled thump. On his face a self-satisfied smile makes him look the happiest you have seen him on this job. Puffing out his chest he starts to address those who for some reason decided that books were filled with stuffy words. In a condescending voice he starts "Why Laurel, glad you Zoi and Galimus have returned, these tomes would provide tremendous insights into the behaviour and actions of those creatures we call Psychopomps. Now young girl, listen to this ...." and so he starts his monologue of interesting facts on Psychopomps, that would bore the most attentive student. As he takes stops momentarily to take a breath he watches Laurel head off, he shuffles after, still talking to her deaf ears, or at least deaf to his words.
Happy to go with the GM on this, whatever way we go.
De Sibelius grumbles under his breath, "I thought it was Galimus that was following us .... " he continues to read and grumble, "Clients, doh, can't accept help from strangers ... " and so it goes, as he readjust his specs, reads and very quietly grumbles to himself "Perhaps I should say that the stranger is one of ours ... working for the firm .... might be able to provide a receipt for the services he renders ... interesting ... more profit maybe ... perhaps I can add some new terms to Lazlo's contract .. no no ... read these first, books, books far more interesting than listening to them warble on ... need to find the right documents..."
After rescuing some of the books from the burning mists, de Sibelius starts to study the books in the Library, as he looks for more evidence of the title of deed that will support Lazlo's claim of ownership. He reads a lot about psychopomps amongst other things, as he reads he asks if anyone can help to recover his wounds, given by the mists. "I'll be good whilst you treat my cuts and bruises, I can read some of these old and wonderful books whilst you attend to me."
With the red mist now dissipated, de Sibelius is confident in his companions abilities bring it down. "Between you this last one will fall, you know you strong and can do this." The gnome start to see if with alll the fire any books or paper are in danger bursting into flames, he moves swiftly to get them and douse them with water. Giving special notice to any that have magical properties.
Seeing an opening, de Sibelius casts a protective spell on himself before he swiftly moves into the library, hoping to save as many books as he can from the horrific mists.
Seeing his friend reel in pain, from a non-existent strike, de Sibelius moves to get a better look trying to see what is happening, catching a glimpse of the yellow tinged mist. Despite the difficulty, de Sibelius throws a small flame at the mist, but with the congestion in the hallway and trying to aim past the walls, his aim is off and the flame harmlessly hits the wall next to him.
de Sibelius is unable to shake off, whatever effects the vampiric mists have on him, "Help!, these things must be stopped, I need to get to the books." he calls out in obvious distress. As he sends a flame at the mist draining him of his blood, before he retreats to safety. Miraculously, the bleeding seems to stop as his body tries to recover from the blows of the mist .
@GM: Not sure why the 1st hit was a crit, unless it's something to do with being glimpsed? As my AC is 17 and being enfeebled shouldn't make any difference to that ... But as I don't know what the vampiric mists are capable of...I ask just so you can recheck...
With his mind spent exclusively thinking of the books that must be in the library, it takes a while for de Sibelius to get his mind back on the dangers facing Lazlo and his companions. Swiftly he moves around into the library and attempts to push some fire into the mists.
Apologies to you all, I've still recovering for whatever got me before Christmas, it's not been a great time. However, I'm ready to start up again, if you're all OK for me to restart the annoying gnome lawyer... Just about to start reading up what I've missed...
Good news it's not covid and I've now get penicillin and other medications, so I am feeling a lot better than I have been. Last night was the first night I actually got some proper sleep, so hoping for the same tonight. So things are looking up and hoping a full recovery is on the way. I'll be posting again after Xmas. Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a brilliant New Year, (with less Covid).
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