18: The Timeless Art of Seduction

[Sierra]

* Eliaphas looks at the body underneath the painted succubus, seeing if it has the same artistic quality or if it seems to be made of flesh and bone.
<Madeline> "You'll be alone again soon enough," replies Madeline, glancing around the room to see if there's any area where an orb might be hidden.
<Madeline> roll 1d20+18 perception
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+18 perception and gets 29."12 [1d20=11]
<El-Cideon> The man on the bed looks more flesh and blood than the painting denizens thus far encountered, albeit not very lively. A man that might've looked young if not for the obviously drained nature of his corpse, with brown hair and blank blue eyes. The succubus herself carries the faint sheen of oil paints worked by a master realist.
<El-Cideon> OOC: also, will all
<Corben> roll 1d20+6 what will
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+6 what will and gets 25."12 [1d20=19]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+17 and gets 35."12 [1d20=18]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+22+2 Kisantha, Heroism lasts for a long time, no?
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+22+2 Kisantha, Heroism lasts for a long time, no? and gets 29."12 [1d20=5]
<Madeline> roll 1d20+9 ok
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+9 ok and gets 12."12 [1d20=3]
<El-Cideon> Madeline sees that the room is starkly furnished apart from the bed...a quick glance shows bare walls of black stone at the edge of the flickering firelight, no apparent doors or windows, and apart from the scattering of clothes on the floor (none of which seems to be an amulet) the only other thing of note is a small corner table with a bottle of wine and glasses.
* Eliaphas approaches the bed to better peer down at the face of the deceased. Is it Ewan or anyone else he recognises? "Who was your friend?"
<Madeline> "Unless you can leave the painting, too? I suppose it is plausible," notes Madeline, glancing back at the way they came in.
<El-Cideon> The succubus rises off her erstwhile mate, sits on the edge of the bed, and yawns in a very revealing stretch. "Oh, we don't need to fuss about names here, do we?" she breathes. "Anything really important can be said better without words, I've always thought." She bats her eyelashes.
<El-Cideon> Madeline sees more blank wall behind her. There are no doors.
<El-Cideon> Eliaphas doesn't think he's seen the face before.
<Corben> "We've seen enough?" Corben asks, standing near the back.
<El-Cideon> Kisantha sighs in open disappointment. "Standards have truly fallen in seduction, haven't they?" She joins Eliaphas in examining the dead man. "This isn't the curator," she says. "Although I believe I recognize him...there's a painting of the artist on the lower floor. He was gone before I ever arrived here, but I do think this is him. Was him."
<Madeline> Madeline fidgets in place. "I don't understand!" she says, suddenly. "How can you be trapped in here for so long without even realising? Or without even trying to escape? Visitors enter, and the first thing you do is try and-" She catches herself, before abruptly bursting into tears. "It's unjust!"
<Madeline> "Think about taking care of yourself!"
<Eliaphas> "We have," Eliaphas agrees with Corben. "But unlike the other paintings, there is no obvious exit..." This compels him to make a thorough search, under the dishevelled clothes, under the bed, in the fireplace... "Control yourself, Madeline," he says reprovingly to the archer, "She's a simulacrum, not a real person, just like all the others in these paintings."
<El-Cideon> "Maybe you can take care of me, huh?" the succubus says. Brashly rolling the body off the bed--it rolls several feet before thumping to a stop--she crooks a finger at the half-elf. "Really, you must be cold and tired...let me help you relax!"
<El-Cideon> The fireplace is presently lit...but the chimney does proceed upwards as normal and could conceivably be climbed.
<Madeline> "Maybe we're all just simulacrums!" replies Madeline, whirling on Eliaphas. "Maybe we're all just- paintings! How would we know?! Just because she's in a painting doesn't mean we should ignore her!"
<Eliaphas> "Then ignore her because she's a simple minded demon that wants to kill you in her embrace," Eliaphas suggests, conjuring some water in the fireplace to put it out.
* Corben knocks on the wall to see just how hard it would be to break through it.
<El-Cideon> "Oh really, now, is that the best you have to offer?" Kisantha huffs. "It's so obvious! So juvenile! Have you no pride in your work?" She casts an annoyed glance at Madeline as well.
<El-Cideon> OOC: will again, M
<Madeline> roll 1d20+9
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+9 and gets 13."12 [1d20=4]
<Madeline> "But why would she want to kill me? I haven't even done anything to her," replies Madeline, glancing back and forth. "It's not like I want to lie with her or anything..." she mutters, a moment later.
<El-Cideon> With a puff of smoke and ashes, the fireplace is out!
<Madeline> Madeline blinks a moment later, and raises a hand to her head. "It doesn't look like the orb is here. We should get moving."
<El-Cideon> "Hey, I don't come into your workplace and tell you what to do," the succubus pouts at Kisantha. "Although maybe I should, you look like you could use some loosening up."
<Eliaphas> "I think the chimney might be our best escape," Eliaphas notes, clambering inside and starting to climb upwards...
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+16 climb
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+16 climb and gets 19."12 [1d20=3]
<Corben> "We can try," Corben agrees. "If not, we break down the walls." He follows, then!
<Corben> roll 1d20+10
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+10 and gets 15."12 [1d20=5]
<Madeline> With her pair of immovable rods, Madeline climbs up after the menfolk.
<El-Cideon> Eliaphas and Corben find it's not much trouble to clamber up the chimney, with it being tight enough for someone to brace against the walls.
<El-Cideon> At the top--(OOC: will)
<Madeline> roll 1d20+9
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+9 and gets 12."12 [1d20=3]
<Corben> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+6 and gets 13."12 [1d20=7]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+17 and gets 27."12 [1d20=10]
<El-Cideon> Madeline and Corben find themselves reappearing right out of the air from their original vantage point, whereas Eliaphas pops up back outside the painting. He can see Kisantha's been added to the composition now, scowling at the other succubus.
* Corben gives it one more try!
* Eliaphas sighs at seeing he's alone, deciding to wait a minute in the hopes they'll be able to follow without resorting to bagging them up.
<Madeline> "Wait, we just need to close our eyes and try again. I think that should work. Maybe," replies Madeline, frowning and trying just that.
<El-Cideon> "I knew you couldn't leave me alone!" the succubus cries. Upon your reappearance, the cloying scent in the air again seeks to infiltrate your mind...(OOC: will again, though irrelevant for M)
<Corben> roll 1d20+6
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+6 and gets 11."12 [1d20=5]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+22+2 K again
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+22+2 K again and gets 34."12 [1d20=10]
<El-Cideon> OOC: -2, but still
<Corben> "I'm tired. You're tired too, aren't you?" Corben asks Madeline, shaking his head. "This cursed castle messes with your head, with its foul wizardry. It just drains you."
<El-Cideon> "Oh, really," Kisantha sighs with a roll of her eyes. "Is this the way of it. Brute force everything? Have you no pride in your work? A mortal mind is a tangle of neuroses and repression, you have to peel it back layer by layer! There's no finesse to this at all. Here, let me show YOU--"
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+10
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+10 and gets 14."12 [1d20=4]
<Madeline> "No, I'm just about ready to go," replies Madeline. "Who is Kisantha talking to?"
<Corben> "No, you must be really tired," Corben says in surprise. "It's another Kisantha, but naked. They don't like each other."
<El-Cideon> Kisantha focuses her gaze and will on the other demon for a moment, only to convulse sharply and clutch her head with a cry of pain! "Ngh--what--we're leaving now. All of us, come along, both of you." She grabs Corben and Madeline by the wrists and tugs them to the fireplace.
<Madeline> "It must be an illusion or something, there's nothing here but us," replies Madeline, heading towards the chimney again to give it another go. "And I resent the implication that I'm repressed!"
* Corben would resist, if only he had the strength to.
<El-Cideon> "I eagerly look forward to discussing that later, Madeline, but please go for now!"
<El-Cideon> OOC: will again if you're escaping again
<Madeline> roll 1d20+9 I can only hope
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+9 I can only hope and gets 26."12 [1d20=17]
<Corben> roll 1d20+6 I can never hope
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+6 I can never hope and gets 15."12 [1d20=9]
<El-Cideon> Madeline suddenly reappears next to Eliaphas in the gallery!
<Eliaphas> "Welcome back," Eliahas says dryly as Madeline rejoins him. "Are we going to have to put Corben into your bag again to get him out?"
<El-Cideon> Corben loops back 'round to where he started, trapped still. Ignoring Kisantha, the other succubus reaches out to him with arms wide open. "See, you know you don't want to be anywhere else. Come on and let's share some special times together, huh?"
<Madeline> "Oh- hells, they didn't return?" asks Madeline, clambering out next to Eliaphas. "I don't know. I think he'll be able to break out eventually, it's just a matter of will, right? He'll get there in time."
<Eliaphas> "Assuming he doesn't start crying about painted demons being people too, yes," Eliaphas nods solemnly.
<Corben> "I don't date outside my species," Corben curtly responds, looking for a chair to rest his feet for a bit.
<El-Cideon> "Oh, cursed light," Kisantha swears. She grabs hold of Corben's arm to restrain him. "Maybe this will help a little--" A sudden swell of clarity rushes into Corben's mind. (OOC: Profane Gifted, +2 WIS until further notice)
<Madeline> Madeline blinks. "What?"
<Corben> Exploding with rage at how no one wants to let him rest, Corben ascends the chimney anew! Anything to find a place where he won't be bothered and could take a breather for a change!
<El-Cideon> "It doesn't have to be anything so formal, honey," the succubus says, rising off the bed and prancing over to take hold of Corben's other arm. "Just two eager, lonely people helping other unwind. It's not such a chore, is it?"
* Eliaphas looks sidelong at Madeline. "You don't remember your sudden burst of consideration towards the subject of that painting?" he looks to see if her cheeks are still wet with the tears she shed over the demon's fate.
<Madeline> "What, Kisantha?" Madeline snorts. "She's a succubus. I'd like to think I have more sense than that."
<Madeline> Madeline seems as composed as ever, which means her face is free of tears and her eyes are darting about at a sensible pace.
<Eliaphas> "Not her, the one in the painting," Eliaphas gestures to the grinning dark-haired temptress straddling her unlucky lover in the canvas.
<El-Cideon> But Corben finds neither passenger seems eager to let him go, and he drags two clingy demons with him over to the fireplace!
<Madeline> "Wait. Are you saying there's another one that only I can't see?" asks Madeline, frowning.
<Corben> Stopping, Corben looks at the succubus on each arm. He frowns.
<Eliaphas> Stepping towards the painting, Eliaphas places his index finger squarely over the cowgirl demon's bosom. "What am I pointing at?"
<Corben> "I had a dream like that, once," he says at length. "I died horribly in it."
<Madeline> "The wall, right?"
<El-Cideon> The naked succubus snuggles up to Corben. "There, see! I knew I'd reach you eventually. It must be fate. Let's us go to the bed and make some memories, huh?"
<Eliaphas> "You can't see the painting at all?" Eliaphas frowns, turning to look squarely at the painting in order to affirm his own eyes aren't deceiving him.
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+19 obligatory save
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+19 obligatory save and gets 28."12 [1d20=9]
<El-Cideon> Kisantha snarls, points a red fingernail at the other demon. "ENOUGH."
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+10
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+10 and gets 16."12 [1d20=6]
<Madeline> "I can obviously see the painting," replies Madeline, scowling. "You're pointing at the wall in the painting, is what I meant."
<El-Cideon> The other succubus suddenly freezes mid-grope, standing stock still.
<El-Cideon> Eliaphas is positive there's indeed a succubus in the painting. He doesn't think his eyes are failing him.
<Eliaphas> "Then yes. There is a succubus that only you can't see," Eliaphas nods, turning to Madeline. "It's as if the very concept of her being has been stripped from your awareness..."
<El-Cideon> This done, Kisantha carefully pries the other woman's arms off of Corben. "You. Up the chimney. Now."
<Corben> "Why are you two fighting, anyway?" Corben finally decides to ask. "Are you lonely too?"
<Madeline> "I'm equal parts horrified and relieved, to be honest," replies Madeline. "See no evil, hear no evil, and all that."
<El-Cideon> A smile. "Why yes, I am, wonderful of you to ask. Let's talk about my loneliness at length sometime later, shall we? Sometime when we're not here."
<El-Cideon> OOC: will, Corben
<Corben> roll 1d20+7
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+7 and gets 19."12 [1d20=12]
<Eliaphas> "That works up until evil sticks a blade in your kidneys, yes," Eliaphas nods.
<Corben> "This castle doesn't fight fair," Corben complains, even as he complies with her wishes. "It makes you tired and drains your strength, but it still pushes you on. It should face you openly, with steel!"
<El-Cideon> OOC: climb+will if you're trying again
<Corben> roll 1d20+10 climb
<Madeline> "Please don't force me to consider whether I'd prefer dying to a knife or dying in an embrace," replies Madeline.
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+10 climb and gets 24."12 [1d20=14]
<Corben> roll 1d20+7 will
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+7 will and gets 22."12 [1d20=15]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+10
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+10 and gets 13."12 [1d20=3]
<El-Cideon> Corben reappears in the gallery alongside his friends!
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+20+2
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+20+2 and gets 33."12 [1d20=11]
<El-Cideon> And shortly thereafter, so does Kisantha.
<Eliaphas> "Welcome back," Eliaphas sighs. "I was worried I'd have to go in and bag you up again."
* Corben blinks. "Again? That happened before?"
<El-Cideon> "Is that what we can expect from all these paintings?" Kisantha asks, brushing soot off her uniform. "I stayed away after I heard the gallery was eating people, so this is a novel experience for me."
<Madeline> "I don't know. I don't even know what happened in there, so I have no idea if it'll happen again." Madeline scowls. "Bloody succubi. Bloody paintings. Bloody everything," she mutters, opting to move clockwise to the next painting.
<Eliaphas> "The painting with the duchess," Eliaphas reminds Corben. Then he follows Madeline to the next painting to get drawn inside.
<El-Cideon> "You were very briefly at risk of losing your soul to a talentless harlot, before I swept in and saved you," Kisantha says, joining the others.
<El-Cideon> The next painting you see...Ochre dust and sky bracket a field studded with spears of rusted iron. In hill and valley, the metal spikes thrust from every open space at all angles. Upon these nails are impaled naked humans of all race and gender, all manner and orientation apparent in the position of their skewering. The nearest can vividly be seen to weep tears and sweat in addition to the seeping of their wounds; the contortions of those wracked with agony make it apparent they still live and suffer. Within the painting, this field is seemingly without end. The plaque reads: The Wretched.
<El-Cideon> OOC: perception for those who wish it, and will if you don't want to go in.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+25 K
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+25 K and gets 40."12 [1d20=15]
<Madeline> "Ah, so it was all about the professional pride of succubi. Kisantha, if I ever feel anything for you beyond a sort of dim respect, I will probably be forced to kill you. I want you to understand that," replies Madeline.
<Madeline> roll 1d20+18 perception
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+18 perception and gets 31."12 [1d20=13]
<Corben> roll 1d20+17 perception
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+17 perception and gets 31."12 [1d20=14]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+21 perception, forfeit will
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+21 perception, forfeit will and gets 39."12 [1d20=18]
<El-Cideon> "Not even the sisterly bond of comrades in arms?" Kisantha says with a pout. Examining the painting, she raises a hand to point out an incongruous figure in the painting that all the others have in fact already seen--it's hard to pick it out amongst the mass of suffering, but one lone figure in that crowd of impaled mortals is dressed. That's all you have time to note before being drawn in, though--
<El-Cideon> --at which point existence becomes pain. Screaming, blinding pain as you find yourself stuck through by burning steel like an insect pinned in a display cabinet. All around you is a constant howl of mortal suffering, and blistering heat picks at your skin, but the staggering pain of a steel spear driven inside you drives out all other immediate concerns. Corben finds himself impaled through the stomach, staring at bloodsoaked dirt; Madeline pierced through the back, gaze to the sky; Eliaphas head down with a lance through his throat.
<El-Cideon> OOC: fort, all
<Madeline> roll 1d20+12
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11+2 K
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+12 and gets 20."12 [1d20=8]
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11+2 K and gets 31."12 [1d20=18]
<Corben> roll 1d20+11
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+13
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+11 and gets 13."12 [1d20=2]
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+13 and gets 31."12 [1d20=18]
<Corben> roll 1d20+11 reroll
<El-Cideon> roll 1d6 WIS damage for Corben
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+11 reroll and gets 17."12 [1d20=6]
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d6 WIS damage for Corben and gets 4."12 [1d6=4]
<El-Cideon> OOC: even after reroll
<El-Cideon> The agony overwhelms Corben's mind, driving him on towards gibbering madness! Madeline and Eliaphas are able to exert some control over themselves, for the time being... (OOC: Corben is presently a wreck, M and E can act but with a -5 penalty to anything involving coordination or concentration)
<Eliaphas> Gurgling in pained agony, Eliaphas grabs hold of the spear and tries to pull himself off of it while he still has strength to do so!
<Madeline> Madeline screams in agony, a piercing wail that soon chokes off in gasps of terror and pain! When she manages to regain control of herself- a difficult task- she grabs a piece of cloth and stuffs it on her mouth and clenches her jaw hard. Grabbing both her immovable rods, she starts using them to try and pull herself up and off the spear in a straight line, step by bloody step.
<El-Cideon> Not far away from the others, Kisantha is stuck through on a spear as well; the metal shaft disappears up her skirt and emerges from her mouth. With a gagged effort of will, she tries to focus--
<El-Cideon> OOC: STR check for E, M found a novel solution
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+2
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+2 and gets 11."12 [1d20=9]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+17 and gets 36."12 [1d20=19]
* Corben shudders as he is brutally impaled, his arms flapping uselessly. Screams of horror surround him, and he can't even tell which of those are his.
<El-Cideon> Kisantha blinks out of existence momentarily and swiftly reappears on her knees in the dirt, clutching her throat and gasping bloody coughs. Madeline's makeshift ladder soon sees her to freedom and relative safety--your wounds here, it seems, aren't permanent and quickly heal up once off the shaft.
<El-Cideon> OOC: fort again, C and E
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+13
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+13 and gets 26."12 [1d20=13]
<Corben> roll 1d20+11
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+11 and gets 25."12 [1d20=14]
<Madeline> Madeline clutches her chest for a moment, before glancing up in alarm at her comrades. It wasn't how she expected to use it, but after a choked-out spell, she takes to the air and nervously swoops about to try and slide them off herself.
<El-Cideon> Corben is able to wrest control over his faculties, for the time being! Eliaphas soldiers on despite his scrabbling fail to find purchase.
<El-Cideon> Madeline finds little difficulty in drawing either of her comrades off the metal blades, though the effort of doing so is no doubt excruciating for them.
<Corben> In a fit of terrible rage, Corben draws his falcion and viciously assaults the shaft of the spear just short of where it meets his body. Once it has been sundered, pulling the rest of it out should be easy enough.
* Eliaphas lets Madeline rescue him, eyes shining with gratitude despite the incredible pain her rescue engenders.
<El-Cideon> OOC: attack roll, if you want to try that, C. -5 applies given your position.
<Corben> roll 1d20+19 strong rage!
<El-Cideon> Eliaphas is soon freed; the staggering pain lingers for a moment, but the injury seems passing.
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 1d20+19 strong rage! and gets 32."12 [1d20=13]
<El-Cideon> OOC: roll sundering damage!
<Corben> roll 2d4+16+6 die!
* Hatbot --> "Corben rolls 2d4+16+6 die! and gets 27."12 [2d4=3, 2]
<Madeline> Corben seems to be freeing himself, although Madeline hovers nearby just in case any assistance is needed.
<El-Cideon> Corben shears off the metal spear midway along its length, and tumbles to the ground with the remainder still lodged inside him. The ground here is dry and baking.
* Corben grasps the remaining shaft with both hands, and pulls it out with a loud yell!
<Eliaphas> Various horrified hacking and choking noises emanate from Eliaphas's mouth until his throat heals itself enough for him to merely cough and moan, dragging himself upright once he's recovered. "This is hell?" Perhaps an artist's depiction, but he has no trouble matching it with theology.
<El-Cideon> OOC: K:R if you want, E
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+16 sure
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+16 sure and gets 33."12 [1d20=17]
<El-Cideon> Kisantha manages a wobbly rise to her feet, staggering over to the others.
<Madeline> "Close enough," chokes Madeline, eyes straying longingly to the healing potions at her belt. But she seems to be recovering with just a fading ache, and abruptly searches the area for that other man Kisantha pointed out.
<El-Cideon> "Not all of it's this bad," Kisantha croaks with an apologetic expression.
<Eliaphas> "Where murderers face their judgement," Eliaphas nods at length, glancing at Kisantha. "Seducers face different torments," he agrees levelly, before going to help Corben.
<El-Cideon> Surrounded by the constant, maddening aura of howling agony on all sides, Madeline nonetheless finds it easy to pick out the only other clothed mortal in the vast plain. It's a young woman, dressed in green and brown motley, impaled down the throat and facing the ground. She still breathes, but her expression is a void.
<El-Cideon> "The torment of eternal chastity, no doubt?" Kisantha remarks.
<Madeline> Madeline winces. How long could she've been here for? Decades? They may never find out, but her time on a spike is now at an end. She starts tugging the girl off the spear, wincing at every little spurt of blood.
<Eliaphas> "A more subtle punishment than this one," Eliaphas agrees as he helps Corben right himself.
<El-Cideon> Madeline's task is soon accomplished, though the girl is evidently in no fit state to offer thanks--as soon as she's free, she curls into a ball on the ground and shivers uncontrollably. She should be a pretty young thing, with glossy black hair, but after her ordeal she's drawn and haggard.
<Madeline> Madeline starts massaging the girl's shoulders. "Can you do something for her?" she asks, glancing helplessly at Eliaphas.
<El-Cideon> Aside from looking considerably frazzled from the whole affair, Corben seems in reasonably good shape once he's helped to his feet,.
<Eliaphas> With Corben saved, Eliaphas joins Madeline. "Her mind is gone, like Randolf's victim... the same cure might work," he agrees, kneeling over the girl and praying to the Lord for a restoration.
<Eliaphas> roll 1d4 lesser restoration
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d4 lesser restoration and gets 1."12 [1d4=1]
<Eliaphas> roll 1d4 lesser restoration and another!
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d4 lesser restoration and another! and gets 3."12 [1d4=3]
<El-Cideon> Kisantha meanders along behind the others. "Found a stray waif, did you?" The young woman's eyes acquire a small amount of focus--there's a wild look to her that one could be quick to attribute to that of a raving street lunatic--but she seems aware of you now at least.
<El-Cideon> "Dressed as for a play, I think. Probably one of Larchmont's creatures," Kisantha observes. "One of them got lost in here some time ago, before anyone could tell the little fool to stay away. That wasn't long after my arrival."
<Eliaphas> Another spell will hopefully bring her mind back to normality, or at least close to it.
<Eliaphas> roll 1d4 third for good luck
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d4 third for good luck and gets 2."12 [1d4=2]
<Madeline> "Yes, I remember," replies Madeline, suddenly. "It was mentioned in the journal..." Madeline pulls it out, attempting to figure out the date this happened.
<Corben> "She's a prisoner here, not a creature," Corben states. "We need to take her back to the others."
<El-Cideon> She casts a speculative glance at the burning sky. "That was two hundred years ago," she says, in accordance with what Madeline recalls from the journal. "I believe this raises some questions about whether time functions quite as we'd expect inside these minor realms."
<Madeline> Madeline shifts uneasily. "We should check the prisoners when we return," she states. "They would have a better sense than us."
<El-Cideon> The girl doesn't look to be getting much more lucid by this point, but she does focus enough to look at each of you in turn and speak in a tiny, strangled voice: "Water."
<Madeline> "Oh-" She quickly reaches for her flask, and puts the opening to the girl's lips.
<El-Cideon> She snatches the flask like a drowning man would a rope and sucks down however much it has in the way of contents, eyes closed in eager relief.
<Madeline> Where to go from here? All the other paintings had an obvious exit, but- "Corben, we need to cut all these down," she says, suddenly. "I- I refuse to go through that again."
<Corben> "Not a problem," Corben snarls, and begins cutting through the forest of spears with all his strength!
<El-Cideon> There are no apparent exits that Madeline can see. Kisantha makes a searching glance and comes to the same conclusion. "Places of eternal punishment aren't designed to allow egress, you know..."
<Madeline> Madeline hovers a little off the ground. "Maybe we just go up," she remarks, glancing towards the sky.
<Eliaphas> "Even so, this is a painting and not really Nistrel," Eliaphas retorts, looking at the ground to see if the baked earth has any breaks in it.
<El-Cideon> The rusted metal is no match for Corben's sword, and the spears fall one by one. It is an immense field, however, and cutting them all down will surely be the work of hours. Each freed sinner winks out of existence in a shower of blue light once freed, with a fleeting, grateful expression before vanishing.
<El-Cideon> Madeline sees naught but burning red high above her. There's not even an obvious sun to be seen. Eliaphas finds the ground similarly uniform and unhelpful.
<El-Cideon> The girl climbs to her feet, prods the floating Madeline and offers the emptied flask back.
<Eliaphas> "Hmm..." Eliaphas thinks a moment, and then gathers up a bundle of fallen spears. Planting two in the ground, and placing another over the top as if to make a doorway, he walks through while thinking about being gone from this place.
<Madeline> "Do you want some food?" asks Madeline, touching down and taking back the flask. "Any more water? Healing?"
<El-Cideon> OOC: will, Eliaphas, at -2
<Eliaphas> roll 1d20+17
* Hatbot --> "Eliaphas rolls 1d20+17 and gets 19."12 [1d20=2]
<El-Cideon> Eliaphas emerges on the other side of his makeshift doorway. Well, what did he expect to happen?
<El-Cideon> "Out first," the girl says quietly. "Then food."
<Madeline> "We'll find a way," promises Madeline, floating a little higher so that she can see the full area of the field of spears.
<Eliaphas> "Seems we can't make our own doorways," Eliaphas notes, disappointment hidden by his usual grimness.
<El-Cideon> Madeline's quick to notice the curvature of this land once she rises--it's a small world of its own, abounding with nothing but mortal souls pinned for eternity.
<El-Cideon> Kisantha looks thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm. Let me try something..."
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+20
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+20 and gets 30."12 [1d20=10]
<El-Cideon> Kisantha promptly winks out of existence.
<Corben> "Figures a demon would know how to do it," Corben mutters, pausing in his rampage
<Eliaphas> "Lets hope she can come back and share her findings..." Although really, not even he wants to see her being stuck on one of those spears again.
<Madeline> "How nice for her," mutters Madeline, touching back down with a grimace. "For those of us who can't teleport, I would say the only way out is up." She glances to the sky. "You'd better get in the bag. I can't carry more than one of you normally, I fear."
<El-Cideon> Unfortunately, this is precisely what happens--Kisantha reappears with a similar lack of fanfare only to find herself impaled through the stomach.
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+11+2
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+11+2 and gets 28."12 [1d20=15]
* Corben is there to cut her down from that spear!
<El-Cideon> Amidst a blistering tumble of profanity in some sibilant, inhuman tongue, Kisantha climbs to her feet, yanks out the remainder of the spear and kicks it angrily aside.
<El-Cideon> Finally, she deliberately regains her composure and takes a moment to tuck any loose locks of hair back into her customary bun. "I can teleport out, but it seems I follow the same rules coming back in. Blast this place!"
<Eliaphas> Still, the fact that she came back to suffer so after already escaping deserves some respect, so Eliaphas begrudgingly offers, "Thank you for coming back, at least. We're going to try flying out, now."
<Madeline> Madeline resists the urge to cover her eyes at the spectacle, and ends up glancing at Kisantha with some degree of appreciation. "It's unfortunate that you can't take others with you," she admits. "Unless you know of a scroll of teleport in the castle?"
<El-Cideon> "Are you? I can fly on my own, of course, if it will be of aid in ferrying the others to safety. Will there be need of assistance in carrying folk to freedom in my arms?" she offers with a resilient smile. "A scroll of teleport, now? I may have one. I've given no thought to learning the spell for obvious reasons but, well, I do accumulate strange nicknacks, you know?"
<Madeline> "I could use it to get us out of here, then. Probably."
<Corben> "Why can't you teleport out with us all?"
<El-Cideon> "I can return and search my collection," she says, adding with a grimace, "though it would mean returning in similarly undignified fashion in order to give it to you."
<Madeline> "If you can teleport with people in a bag of holding, that would work as well. I'm not aware of how the demonic limitations work."
<El-Cideon> "I can only carry so much weight, Corben," Kisantha says apologetically. "A bag of holding, now, those rather work to subvert the idea of weight, don't they? It could work."
<Eliaphas> "Lets try that, then," Eliaphas nods, ready to make a trip through the bag.
<Madeline> "Let's try it, then," suggests Madeline, reaching into the bag and... extracting the other painting she was keeping inside. "Gonna have to take this out," she mutters, dropping it face-down on the cracked earth.
<El-Cideon> The late Lady Romanja maintains her ever-present expression of faint amusement despite her new surroundings--at least at first. Moments after hitting the ground, an expression of panic overtakes the subject's expression; shortly, the paint bubbles and oozes into nothing on the dusty ground, leaving the canvas blank.
<Madeline> Madeline blinks. "Did- what- I didn't mean to!" she babbles, staring at the painting in sudden horror.
<El-Cideon> Kisantha takes a cautious step away from Madeline. "Is there anything else in there I should know about?"
<Eliaphas> "Put it back, put it back!" Eliaphas yells quickly, backing off!
<El-Cideon> At the end of this process, the frame surrounds merely a black void.
<Madeline> "Just- you know, equipment-" Madeline hurried trives to shove the painting back in the bag, although she fears it's far too late! She lifts off a moment later, circling the little world for any sign of the painting's previous subject...
<El-Cideon> OOC: perception?
<Madeline> roll 1d20+18
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+18 and gets 21."12 [1d20=3]
<El-Cideon> Madeline doesn't see any sign of new additions to the field of spears.
<Madeline> Madeline eventually returns, breathing raggedly and covering her eyes in shame.
<El-Cideon> "What did you do?" the rescued girl is saying with wide eyes. "You killed that painting!"
<Eliaphas> "Well, it didn't destruct so violently as the last one, but still..." Eliaphas shakes his head, displeased. The painted Lady was nice in her own way...
<Madeline> "I- I didn't know that would happen," replies Madeline, clenching her fists.
<Corben> The why of it matters more than the what, as far as Corben is concerned, but that can all wait until they leave. "We done with killing things here? Can we go now?"
<El-Cideon> "In that case, I propose the following," Kisantha says. "We save such experimentation for times when we are not dwelling within a plane of eternal punishment; and that we forthwith avoid paintings of such locales unless we know we have no alternative."
<Madeline> "I wasn't experimenting, there just-" She stares balefully at the bag. "Well, there's enough room now."
<El-Cideon> "In the *bag*?" the girl says with a wary glance.
<El-Cideon> "Pile in," Kisantha says with a wave. "I can make it out on my own."
<Eliaphas> "It's that or stay here," Eliaphas replies dourly, clambering within!
<Madeline> "It will hopefully be okay," replies Madeline. Or they'll all be shunted into the astral plane and be stuck wandering it for eternity. Or maybe they'll all just die.
<El-Cideon> With one last look around the field of speared sinners, the girl decides whatever fate awaits inside the bag can only be an improvement, and climbs in.
<Madeline> "I will try to fly out," states Madeline, after a moment. "I can carry one person. The bag won't hold more than three, at my guess."
* Corben hardly intends to stay back here, and likewise climbs inside.
<Madeline> With everyone else all tucked in, Madeline takes off and flies for the sky, closing her eyes the whole while and desperately hoping she'll open them back in the castle (and not on a spike.)
<El-Cideon> "See you on the other side," Kisantha says, blinking out on her own.
<El-Cideon> OOC: will
<Madeline> roll 1d20+9 as long as it's not from the other side
* Hatbot --> "Madeline rolls 1d20+9 as long as it's not from the other side and gets 26."12 [1d20=17]
<El-Cideon> roll 1d20+20 K, largely academic
* Hatbot --> "El-Cideon rolls 1d20+20 K, largely academic and gets 22."12 [1d20=2]
<El-Cideon> Madeline flies and flies--and soon bumps into the ceiling of the gallery, outside the painting.
<Madeline> "Ow-" She opens her eyes, and sighs with relief.
<El-Cideon> Kisantha is here already, removing the painting with eyes averted and turning it to the wall.
* Corben changes topic to '6Corben: 109/137 (-4wis), Eliaphas: 91/102, Madeline: 82/96(-1wis)| Flame Arrows: 34|  '
<El-Cideon> "On second thought, we should do this with any of the dangerous ones...although I'd eagerly toss my amateurish sister off the castle wall."
<Madeline> "We'll leave them facing inwards," decides Madeline. "I can well believe doing otherwise would antagonize the gallery."
<El-Cideon> Kisantha nods and follows suit with the succubus painting.