17: I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost!

[Sierra]

<El-Cideon> The corridor is silent in the immediate aftermath of the last specter's retreat. The four of you stand outside the infirmary door in Mistvalken's guest wing. Kisantha hisses quietly: "If she didn't know we were here already, I'd guess she does now. We should move in."
* Corben needs no further encouragement to kick the door in and head inside!
* Eliaphas moves to back Corben up and shoot from behind the cover of his imposing bulk!
<El-Cideon> This door...is held shut by a heavy (albeit rusted) lock!
<Corben> roll 1d20+18 SUNDER
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+18 SUNDER and gets 28."12 [1d20=10]
<El-Cideon> OOC: smashy
<Corben> roll 1d8+8+6
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d8+8+6 and gets 21."12 [1d8=7]
<Corben> As soon as the treacherous door is broken down, Corben activates his cloak and steps through to slay any ghosts laying in wait past it!
<El-Cideon> As with so many other inanimate objects before it, this lock quickly falls to Corben's mighty blade. The group barrels into the infirmary behind him. Twenty feet wide and forty long, the room is lined with beds. At the eastern end a window looks out onto blank mists, a cabinet next to it. Clustered nearby this is a swarm of ghostly nurses, and another figure you recognize from her portrait in the gallery--save that now she's faintly translucent and tinted a deep crimson that ripples as though constantly awash in blood.
<El-Cideon> "More patients," she deadpans. "Well come on then, I haven't got a full house after all the mess you've made out there!"
<El-Cideon> OOC: init unless folks want to chat for some reason
<Madeline> roll 1d20+9 not I
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+9 not I and gets 17."12 [1d20=8]
<Eliaphas> "Prepare yourself for judgement, spirit, your unlife ends now!" Eliaphas calls, raising his crossbow!
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+9
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+9 and gets 15."12 [1d20=6]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+7 Kisantha
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+7 Kisantha and gets 26."12 [1d20=19]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11 Mary
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11 Mary and gets 25."12 [1d20=14]
<El-Cideon> roll 4#1d20+10 nurses
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 4#1d20+10 nurses and gets 71."12 [4#1d20+10 = 24, 18, 18, 11]
<Corben> roll 1d20+12
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+12 and gets 27."12 [1d20=15]
* El-Cideon changes topic to '6Corben: 125/137, Eliaphas: 90/102, Madeline: 82/96(-1wis)| Flame Arrows: 39|  Corben > Kisantha > Bloody Mary > Scarred Nurse > Redhead Nurse = Blonde Nurse > Madeline > Eliaphas > Elderly Nurse'
<El-Cideon> OOC: open up, C
<Corben> "Begone, abominations!" Corben declares, longsword brandished threateningly. He steps towards the lot, but rather than charge as he usually does Corben settles into a defensive stance as one of the diamonds adorning his helm shines brightly!
<Corben> roll 1d6 to undead, walking to within 30ft of them all
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d6 to undead, walking to within 30ft of them all and gets 4."12 [1d6=4]
<Corben> roll 1d8 prismatic spray~
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d8 prismatic spray~ and gets 8."12 [1d8=8]
<Corben> roll 2#1d8
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 2#1d8 and gets 10."12 [2#1d8 = 6, 4]
<Corben> roll 1d8 let's go by init order
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d8 let's go by init order and gets 5."12 [1d8=5]
<Corben> roll 1d8 redhead!
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d8 redhead! and gets 5."12 [1d8=5]
<Corben> roll 1d8 blondie!
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d8 blondie! and gets 4."12 [1d8=4]
<Corben> roll 1d8 old nurse
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d8 old nurse and gets 8."12 [1d8=8]
<Corben> roll 2#1d8 nice
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 2#1d8 nice and gets 9."12 [2#1d8 = 4, 5]
<El-Cideon> Coruscating beams of colored light spread throughout the room, only to pass harmlessly through the array of ghosts. Despite this display of magical inadequacy, Kisantha steps into the corner of the room and tries a spell of her own. Lightning crackles around one clenched fist; she winds back her arm and flings a bolt of electricity around the room!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+16 Mary ref
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+16 Mary ref and gets 36."12 [1d20=20]
<El-Cideon> roll 4#d20+13 nurse ref
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 4#d20+13 nurse ref and gets 98."12 [4#d20+13 = 25, 29, 19, 25]
<El-Cideon> roll 12d6 this gets halved twice (evasion/incorp) for all but one
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 12d6 this gets halved twice (evasion/incorp) for all but one and gets 43."12 [12d6=4, 3, 5, 6, 5, 1, 1, 2, 3, 6, 6, 1]
<El-Cideon> An acrid scent fills the air as the bolt sears ectoplasm into a sickly mist! "Kisantha," Mary says, "I'm surprised. I expected this a long time ago." The bloody specter drifts through the line of beds to reach out one ghostly arm for the demoness; a nurse with a long mane of red hair drifts forward and stabs away at Corben; one nurse with a grotesque scar marring her face drops to her knees, clutches her head and HOWLS in ferocious pain!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+17 touch Kisantha
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+17 touch Kisantha and gets 33."12 [1d20=16]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11+2 heroic fort~
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11+2 heroic fort~ and gets 19."12 [1d20=6]
<El-Cideon> roll 15d6 failed :(
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 15d6 failed :( and gets 29."12 [15d6=2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 4, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 3]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+15 stab Corben
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+15 stab Corben and gets 20."12 [1d20=5]
<Corben> OOC: AC23 vs undead
<El-Cideon> OOC: also roll will, all. Fear effect for what it matters.
<Madeline> OOC: is it a SPELL
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+17 and gets 31."12 [1d20=14]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+20+2 Kisantha's better save
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+20+2 Kisantha's better save and gets 28."12 [1d20=6]
<El-Cideon> OOC: supernatural ability
<Madeline> roll 1d20+9 my will could be better
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+9 my will could be better and gets 20."12 [1d20=11]
<Corben> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+6 and gets 8."12 [1d20=2]
<El-Cideon> roll 2d4 Corben panicked this many rounds
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2d4 Corben panicked this many rounds and gets 6."12 [2d4=3, 3]
* El-Cideon changes topic to '6Corben: 125/137, Eliaphas: 90/102, Madeline: 82/96(-1wis)| Flame Arrows: 39|  Corben (panicked 6 rounds) > Kisantha > Bloody Mary > Scarred Nurse > Redhead Nurse = Blonde Nurse > Madeline > Eliaphas > Elderly Nurse'
<El-Cideon> Most of the heroes resist the ghastly wail--yet for Corben it plunges him into terrible memories of childhood servitude and fear! A crippling panic overtakes the warrior as another nurse moves in to stab at him.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+15 they hate not having flanking
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+15 they hate not having flanking and gets 16."12 [1d20=1]
<El-Cideon> OOC: M and E
<El-Cideon> "Well, maybe if you hadn't been so adamant about not letting me into your grizzled war veterans' club, I might not feel so motivated to murder you!" Kisantha yells at the crimson apparition as bloody welts form up all over her skin.
<Eliaphas> Moving into the room with his back against the wall running up from the door, Eliaphas targets the head nurse with a single bolt of ghost smiting, at the same time
<Eliaphas> OOC: protection and destruction judgements
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+17 and gets 29."12 [1d20=12]
<El-Cideon> OOC: whiff
<Madeline> Madeline has little faith in walls protecting her from ghosts, and opts to enchant herself with a flickering charm that has her blinking back and forth between the ethereal and the material! OOC: Blink, not moving far
<El-Cideon> The last nurse, a wizened, white-haired old woman, steps forward to help surround Corben. Glancing at the group of heroes, her eyes flash with a malevolent light!
<El-Cideon> OOC: roll fort all, except presumably M who is out in the hall?
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11+2 K
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11+2 K and gets 24."12 [1d20=11]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+13
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+13 and gets 24."12 [1d20=11]
<Corben> roll 1d20+11-2
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+11-2 and gets 20."12 [1d20=11]
<El-Cideon> roll 2d10 damage, everyone takes this (there'd be more if anyone failed it, but no one did)
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2d10 damage, everyone takes this (there'd be more if anyone failed it, but no one did) and gets 14."12 [2d10=9, 5]
* Eliaphas changes topic to '6Corben: 111/137, Eliaphas: 76/102, Madeline: 68/96(-1wis)| Flame Arrows: 39|  Corben (panicked 6 rounds) > Kisantha > Bloody Mary > Scarred Nurse > Redhead Nurse = Blonde Nurse > Madeline > Eliaphas > Elderly Nurse'
<El-Cideon> OOC: C
<Corben> roll 1d6
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d6 and gets 3."12 [1d6=3]
* Madeline changes topic to '6Corben: 111/137, Eliaphas: 76/102, Madeline: 82/96(-1wis)| Flame Arrows: 39|  Corben (panicked 6 rounds) > Kisantha > Bloody Mary > Scarred Nurse > Redhead Nurse = Blonde Nurse > Madeline > Eliaphas > Elderly Nurse'
<Corben> Tossing the longsword into the elderly nurse's face, Corben shoves her aside and flees out of the room.
<El-Cideon> roll 3#1d20+15 AoOs all around, I presume
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 3#1d20+15 AoOs all around, I presume and gets 73."12 [3#1d20+15 = 21, 25, 27]
<El-Cideon> OOC: present AC?
<Corben> OOC: 23. Also a 20% miss chance from cloak.
<El-Cideon> roll 2#1d100
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2#1d100 and gets 85."12 [2#1d100 = 36, 49]
<El-Cideon> roll 2#1d4+1
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2#1d4+1  and gets 6."12 [2#1d4+1 = 2, 4]
<El-Cideon> A couple of ghostly jabs poke at Corben before he can make his escape. "And I thought he looked so manly and virile!" Kisantha pouts as the warrior makes his exit. Choosing to weather Mary's hostility, she moves next to the door in order to catch the group of heroes in a spell--
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+19 stab
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+19 stab and gets 39."12 [1d20=20]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+19 stab crit?
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+19 stab crit? and gets 26."12 [1d20=7]
<El-Cideon> roll 2d4+6 damage
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2d4+6 damage and gets 11."12 [2d4=1, 4]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11+2 also fort?!
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11+2 also fort?! and gets 17."12 [1d20=4]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11+2 heroic demon point reroll?!
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11+2 heroic demon point reroll?! and gets 29."12 [1d20=16]
<El-Cideon> Kisantha's voice falters momentarily, but she struggles through whatever enchantment Mary's blades sought to impart and chants a speed-boosting spell on the party!
<El-Cideon> OOC: Haste is up
<El-Cideon> "One of you follow him!" Mary barks, pointing to the retreating Corben. "Don't lose him!" This said, Mary herself and one of her servants move up next to Kisantha and reach out to impart more ghostly violence--
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+17 mary
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+17 mary and gets 19."12 [1d20=2]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+13 nurse
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+13 nurse and gets 24."12 [1d20=11]
<El-Cideon> roll 2#d20+11+2 fort
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 2#d20+11+2 fort and gets 46."12 [2#d20+11+2 = 15, 31]
<El-Cideon> roll 15d6
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 15d6 and gets 53."12 [15d6=5, 3, 3, 6, 2, 5, 1, 6, 2, 1, 1, 6, 5, 3, 4]
<El-Cideon> roll 10d6 halved this one at least
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 10d6 halved this one at least and gets 34."12 [10d6=6, 1, 5, 5, 2, 1, 1, 1, 6, 6]
* Corben changes topic to '6Corben: 109/137, Eliaphas: 76/102, Madeline: 82/96(-1wis)| Flame Arrows: 39|  Corben (panicked 6 rounds) > Kisantha > Bloody Mary > Scarred Nurse > Redhead Nurse = Blonde Nurse > Madeline > Eliaphas > Elderly Nurse'
<El-Cideon> Kisantha howls as ghastly wounds open up all over her body and drench her librarian's uniform in dark, demonic ichor! The redhaired and blonde nurses drift through the walls to reappear in pursuit of Corben.
<El-Cideon> OOC: M and E
<Eliaphas> Duly hasted, Eliaphas proceeds to unload all his remaining bolts at Mary, even if it does save the demon in the process!
<Madeline> If she can take out Mary, the ghosts might stop following her commands! There isn't another target worth firing upon, and Madeline fights to unleash all her arrows at the undying surgeon at just the right moment!
<Madeline> OOC: You go first?
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane and gets 37."12 [1d20=19]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane and gets 26."12 [1d20=8]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane and gets 36."12 [1d20=18]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+13 rapid shot, undead bane
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+13 rapid shot, undead bane and gets 32."12 [1d20=19]
<El-Cideon> OOC: all but the 26 are hits
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane crit check
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane crit check and gets 33."12 [1d20=15]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane crit check
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+18 rapid shot, undead bane crit check and gets 31."12 [1d20=13]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+13 rapid shot, undead bane crit check
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+13 rapid shot, undead bane crit check and gets 26."12 [1d20=13]
<El-Cideon> OOC: AC 31, so ow
<Eliaphas> roll 2d10+20+1d6+1d6+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 2d10+20+1d6+1d6+4d6 and gets 53."12 [2d10=8, 2][1d6=4][1d6=3][4d6=6, 1, 4, 5]
<Eliaphas> roll 2d10+20+1d6+1d6+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 2d10+20+1d6+1d6+4d6 and gets 49."12 [2d10=1, 5][1d6=1][1d6=6][4d6=5, 4, 4, 3]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d10+10+1d6+1d6+4d6
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d10+10+1d6+1d6+4d6 and gets 39."12 [1d10=7][1d6=1][1d6=4][4d6=2, 6, 4, 5]
<El-Cideon> Eliaphas's holy ammunition tears through the bloody nurse as though she were flesh and blood, shearing off legs and large chunks of torso and face...but the apparition persists in its boundless hostility, snarling at the priest. "HIM. Take him first!"
<Madeline> Madeline's arrows leap forth in urgent competition!
<Madeline> In competition
<Madeline> roll 1d20+24 rshot mshot
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+24 rshot mshot and gets 26."12 [1d20=2]
<Madeline> roll 1d20+24 rshot mshot
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+24 rshot mshot and gets 35."12 [1d20=11]
<Madeline> roll 1d20+19 rshot mshot
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+19 rshot mshot and gets 28."12 [1d20=9]
<Madeline> roll 1d20+14 rshot mshot
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+14 rshot mshot and gets 23."12 [1d20=9]
<El-Cideon> OOC: 35 hits
<Madeline> roll 1d100 20%miss
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d100 20%miss and gets 47."12 [1d100=47]
<Madeline> roll 1d8+8+2d6+1d6+1d6
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d8+8+2d6+1d6+1d6 and gets 30."12 [1d8=4][2d6=3, 6][1d6=5][1d6=4]
<El-Cideon> But Mary won't be around to see her servants follow through on that command--wily and agile though she is, able to dodge most of Madeline's arrows, one takes her through the head and finally disperses the murderous shade into ocher wisps in the air. With a sound of shattering chains that echoes through the guest wing, the nurse spirits vanish shortly thereafter!
<El-Cideon> OOC: free act
<Eliaphas> Unworthy though she may be, she is of help and so Eliaphas decides he might as well heal her. "We should find Corben quickly," he suggests after bestowing a single spell, heading out now to look for where he went.
<Madeline> "Done and dusted." With the immediate threat dispelled, Madeline hurries after Corben to make sure he comes back to them!
<Eliaphas> roll 1d8+5
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d8+5 and gets 12."12 [1d8=7]
<Eliaphas> OOC: for Kisantha
<El-Cideon> Kisantha drops to her knees, panting, one hand to her dramatically heaving chest. Some of her more grievous wounds mend themselves with Eliaphas's help. "Oh, thank you, Eliaphas, thank you!" she beams up at him. "I knew you cared for me!"
<Eliaphas> "In this castle you're a lesser evil," is all he'll concede, turning his back on her and going to find Corben.
<El-Cideon> "Oh, really, that's all you have to say?" she pouts, climbing to her feet to follow. "Our bonds have now been forged and tested in battle! Surely we are now bosom comrades."
* Eliaphas ignores her, though he does have to stop and reload his crossbow with some fresh ghost-killing bolts before hurrying after Madeline.
<El-Cideon> The heroes shortly find Corben down the hall, visibly shaken and much the worse for wear after his close encounter with the other side.
<Eliaphas> "She is defeated," Eliaphas tells the barbarian. "Are you fit to come back and help look for her key?"
<Madeline> "The other spirits discorporated, so we should be entirely unmolested," notes Madeline.
<El-Cideon> "The least you could do is pretend, for my sake," Kisantha mutters, pausing to magic away the bloodstains soiling her outfit. A mass of open gashes still leave her with a rather battered and wild look, though.
<Corben> "Foul wizardry took hold of my mind!" Corben protests, drawing his beloved falcion. "I'll kill her for the insult! I-- you killed her? Already?"
<Eliaphas> With Corben safe, Eliaphas takes out his wand of healing and starts to use that, mostly on Kisantha since she really did take the brunt in that battle and he'd rather her alive to take more injuries rather than them.
<Eliaphas> roll 2d8+2 for me
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 2d8+2 for me and gets 15."12 [2d8=5, 8]
<Eliaphas> roll 8d8+8 for Kisantha
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 8d8+8 for Kisantha and gets 54."12 [8d8=6, 6, 2, 8, 6, 4, 7, 7]
* Eliaphas changes topic to '6Corben: 109/137, Eliaphas: 91/102, Madeline: 82/96(-1wis)| Flame Arrows: 39|  Corben (panicked 6 rounds) > Kisantha > Bloody Mary > Scarred Nurse > Redhead Nurse = Blonde Nurse > Madeline > Eliaphas > Elderly Nurse'
<El-Cideon> Kisantha looks much more hale and hearty after Eliaphas's further efforts, a red blush coming to her cheeks. "Oh, you should have seen Eliaphas," she gushes to Corben. "Bravely saving me and all. She never stood a chance!"
<Madeline> "She really didn't. It was only two volleys, I believe. Ghosts are not especially hardy," muses Madeline. "The issue is striking them in the first place, but, well, enough arrows in the air and some are sure to hit."
* Corben tears the borrowed chainshirt off and puts his trusted old armor on instead. "I hate ghosts. Them and their trickery."
* Eliaphas looks slightly uncomfortable at Kisantha's gushing praise but tries to put it out of mind. "Lets see if she still has her key for us to use, now?" he suggests, making haste back for the ward.
* Madeline changes topic to '6Corben: 109/137, Eliaphas: 91/102, Madeline: 82/96(-1wis)| Flame Arrows: 34|  Corben (panicked 6 rounds) > Kisantha > Bloody Mary > Scarred Nurse > Redhead Nurse = Blonde Nurse > Madeline > Eliaphas > Elderly Nurse'
<El-Cideon> OOC: roll perception, anyone who cares to
<Madeline> roll 1d20+18
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+18 and gets 22."12 [1d20=4]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+21
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+21 and gets 40."12 [1d20=19]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+25 K
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+25 K and gets 27."12 [1d20=2]
<El-Cideon> There's not much hidden away in the infirmary--the only apparent container is the cabinet by the window, which proves to contain potions in several different varieties, a small alabaster statue of a nude, winged woman, and a stone on a silver chain--a large opal, inset with a two-headed dragon in onyx.
<El-Cideon> Eliaphas can also notice, more a feeling in his feet than a heard sound, a faint rumble from somewhere far below, as of earth moving.
<Madeline> Madeline scours the area for magic, ready to investigate any obviously mystical items!
<El-Cideon> Madeline finds all of these contents to be enchanted--the glass vials are mostly varying shades of blue and prove to come in four varieties.
<El-Cideon> OOC: also feel free to roll K:R on statue, E
<Madeline> roll 2#1d20+18 statue, then the opal
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 2#1d20+18 statue, then the opal and gets 47."12 [2#1d20+18 = 27, 20]
<Madeline> OOC: How many potions?
<El-Cideon> OOC: ten of 'em total, but for the sake of minimizing rolling, there's four different kinds
<Madeline> roll 4#1d20+18
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 4#1d20+18 and gets 134."12 [4#1d20+18 = 32, 32, 34, 36]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+16 religion
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+16 religion and gets 19."12 [1d20=3]
<Eliaphas> "Did you feel that?" Eliaphas asks after the rumble, looking down. "Like something huge moving far below..."
<El-Cideon> Kisantha blinks, looks at Eliaphas. "Is that so? Tell me more."
<Madeline> "Really? Are we really going to have this conversation?"
<El-Cideon> "Whyever not? I know *I* am intrigued by these curious new sensations Eliaphas is experiencing."
* Eliaphas looks irritated. "You do remember the huge golem we saw under the castle, and the tales of giant worms?" he asks Madeline impatiently. "I think something or another has been roused far below our feet."
<Madeline> "Oh." Madeline grimaces. "I do recall. I think we should not attempt to deal with that, or really go anywhere subterranean again; better to focus on eliminating the Duke, as always."
<El-Cideon> "Oh, *that* kind of worm," Kisantha says, clearly disappointed.
<Eliaphas> "So long as whatever's down there doesn't come up here, then," Eliaphas allows, ignoring Kisantha and looking over their haul. "Think this is Mary's key to the tower?" he asks, holding up the opal necklace.
<Madeline> "It is. The statue is just a housekeeping trinket," replies Madeline. "It'll look nice on the mantlepiece... and the potions are healing. It's good that we're picking a lot of these up."
<El-Cideon> Kisantha leans in to examine it closely, exuding a flowery scent not entirely overcome by the air of demonic ichor lingering from her multiple wounds. "Yeeees, I think so. I haven't seen one personally in some time, as the rest of the caretakers are uptight gits who've never had much time for me...but yes, that's what I recall. It should get someone into the tower."
<Madeline> Madeline wrinkles her nose. "Larchmont next. We should make haste. If there really is something crawling up from beneath, it may well reach the villagers before it would reach us."
<Eliaphas> "Progress, at least," Eliaphas nods grimly, pocketing the amulet. "Since Larchmont's death will lead to the Muse's death thereafter, we should try to take his without killing him if we can."
<Corben> "Why not ask Maxwell for both of his? He can have them back once we are done."
<El-Cideon> "If we're lucky, he'll be asleep," Kisantha says. "If not, he'll be in the theater with the rest of his troupe, putting them through their paces. They do keep late hours."
<Madeline> "We need at least one from him anyway," responds Madeline, musing over this for a moment. "Can we contact him..."
<El-Cideon> Kisantha frowns prettily. "I don't know why you'd want to do that considering he asked you to kill me..."
<Eliaphas> "We can approach his wing and see what reception we get," Eliaphas shrugs, distributing potions and keeping some for himself. Corben gets the lesser cures and restorations, Kisantha gets two moderate cures with one each for him and Corben, and the Neutralise poisons are split between him and Corben. "We need his key regardless even if we get Larchmont's."
<Madeline> "As it is, we need his orbs sooner or later. We might as well not bother about wresting away Larchmont's until we've sorted the situation with Maxwell," decides Madeline. "Personally, I'd prefer not to fight him and his. I don't see why we have to- we all have a common goal. But I don't necessarily expect him to remain as friendly as he has."
<El-Cideon> An airy sigh from the succubus: "Well, if you absolutely must talk to him, his laboratory is in the south wing--there's a hallway that branches off near the west side. Understand that going near it brings us right by the menagerie, where his army sleeps when not in use."
<Eliaphas> "If possible we can convey a message from whatever guards he has at the entrance to the South wing."
<El-Cideon> "Oh, very well," Kisantha says. "But I trust you won't hold it against me if I bring up the rear on this little expedition."
<Eliaphas> "Fair enough," Eliaphas shrugs, considering her at least trustworthy after her showing against Bloody Mary. Onwards!
<El-Cideon> Directing the group from the back of the line, Kisantha instructs them along the following route: back down to the first floor of the guest wing and back out into the eastern corridor, she proceeds south. At the bend in the southeast corner of the castle, Kisantha points to a branch leading southeast: "That's the aerie down that way. Harpies hangout. Dreadful creatures--they eat people, and without so much as the decency to wash up afterwards!" Moving west, you pass an intersection leading north into the courtyard and south into an open area that Kisantha quietly says is the menagerie. Moving past this... (more)
<El-Cideon> You come to a corridor leading south. It's not a long hallway--it ends in a heavy metal door a few dozen feet along. Before this door sits a massive beast, leonine in form with an additional head jutting from its back--that of a goat--great, batlike wings and a snakehead tail. A quiet rumble emanates as it watches you. Statues line this hallway, of a bearded, eyeless wiseman, and doors can be seen midway along the hallway on either side.
<El-Cideon> "I suppose we can't knock," Kisantha mutters from behind you all. "Address the statues, he should hear."
<Madeline> "Maxwell! We need your stones to destroy the Duke. We can do this the easy way. What say you?"
<El-Cideon> From the nearest statue, a man's voice, a dry, arrogant drawl. "As I have indicated, Madeline, I have but one."
<El-Cideon> Kisantha quietly snickers.
<Corben> "The one, then," Corben says. "We'll take another from Larchmont, kill the Duke, and you'll get them all back."
<El-Cideon> "And yet, if I give you my key, and you fail in your task, my own access to the Duke is lost. There is a plan to follow. And I must inform you that Ernest Larchmont is *not* in possession of such a thing, however much he might preen and claim otherwise to impress everyone with his own self-importance."
<Eliaphas> "So two people who should possess such keys don't?" Eliaphas speaks up. "Does this castle have a thief problem as well?"
<El-Cideon> "Evidently so," the voice says with mild amusement. "I have some notion as to where Captain Vorela's key might have been taken. As for Larchmont's, he never had one. When the Duke handed them out originally, one went to each wing of the castle. For the north wing, it was given to curator Bulin. It's widely supposed that Larchmont killed him and took it, a notion the elf has done nothing to dispel. In fact, I believe Bulin's gallery ate him. Find his remains and you find the key."
<Corben> "And Vorela's key?"
<El-Cideon> "My servant Natha made a search of Cain's quarters after you disposed of him, and found signs of entry from the sewage line. There are cursed creatures dwelling beneath the castle that have as little love for the Duke as they do for the living. I have for a long time wished them exterminated, but they dwelt under Father Randolf's protection. I believe they have seized the opportunity to steal one of the key's for their own purposes."
<Eliaphas> "So we must go under the castle after all... I suppose you'd prefer to search the gallery first, Madeline?"
<Madeline> "If I'm going to get killed in the paintings, I'd rather it was before I wasted the last hour of my life rooting around sewers and fighting worms."
* Corben nods firmly to that.
<El-Cideon> "A word of caution before you venture into the gallery," the voice says. "Do not destroy the paintings. The gallery will fight back. It grows like a tumor in Mistvalken's heart and I would have burned it years ago had I opportunity. But doing so now may lose us the key we seek."
* Eliaphas looks at Corben with a raised eyebrow. "We will try to avoid it," he replies dryly.
<Madeline> "I'd still take an art gallery that despises me over worms," mutters Madeline. "Let's go get this over with."
<El-Cideon> "I will not wish you luck," Maxwell says in parting. "After your admirable work with Mary, I hardly suspect you need it." With an almost audible silence, the statue goes quiet.
<Eliaphas> Thus Eliaphas starts back along the inner ring to work around towards the gallery once more.
<El-Cideon> The gallery is as deserted as ever and no one interrupts your travel--save for Kisantha's rambling monologue along the way. "He didn't even mention me. He asks you to kill me and then he doesn't even mention me. Of all the nerve. Men!"
<Eliaphas> Ignoring Kisantha, Eliaphas asks, "Should we split up and try different paintings or stay together?"
* Corben just filters the rants out, responding to Eliaphas. "We should stay together. There is no merit in splitting up."
<El-Cideon> "Nothing's as much fun alone as it is with a group," Kisantha agrees.
<Madeline> "Let's start off with the most gruesome paintings. He's most likely to have died in one of them."
* Eliaphas nods, letting Madeline pick.
<El-Cideon> "That would be the devotional gallery," Kisantha says, pointing to the gallery immediately to the right of the entrance. "Presuming the word 'gruesome' from your human perspective, of course. It's a little piece of home for me," she adds with a wistful sigh.
<Madeline> Madeline goes where she's pointed, circling the paintings clockwise from the southern wall!
<El-Cideon> The dominant painting in this gallery, occupying the north wall, is of a massive, devilish form. Elsewhere...Bracketing your door are paintings of an apocalyptic wasteland and a bedroom scene of obvious carnality. On the south wall, a hellish landscape studded with blades, and a winged figure in chains. On the wall across from you is a depiction of what looks like a bubbling crater, next to one of a bloody figure on a slab. There is also a door in the south end of the far wall.
<El-Cideon> Madeline first encounters the following: This painting depicts a dark bedroom containing a nude couple in the aftermath of copulation. The woman, a raven-haired temptress of heartrending beauty, stretches a pair of leathery wings behind her as she straddles her lover and smiles down at him with an unnerving grin of vicious joy. The man beneath her lies with obvious lack of motion, head lolling, mouth agape, eyes empty and with a drained look to him that ill fits the still living. The plaque reads: Offering.
<El-Cideon> OOC: and will save
<El-Cideon> OOC: or pass on that if you want to go in
* Eliaphas does not resist entering the scene if it means a step towards finding their missing curator.
* Corben likewise has nothing to fear from a painting.
<Madeline> Madeline isn't resisting. Perhaps she should, but...
<El-Cideon> Following suit, Kisantha studies the painting with an expression of obvious approval. Soon enough each of you feels that sense of gravity tugging you away from reality--the gallery blurs, and in a blink you find yourself in the dark bedroom depicted on the painting! Most of the light comes from a crackling fireplace that illuminates the bedbound couple in infernal hues. It's quite warm and a thick musk pervades the air. "Oh, visitors at last," the figure on the bed says in eager, honeyed tones. "I've been alone for *so long*..."