Boyd nods and Meresaa and lowers the hood on his lantern and clips the lantern to his belt, freeing his hand, should he need to grab his shortbow.

He also points at Nikita's mage hand and then points to the potions on the wine rack against the wall. Then he gives a shrug... probably poison... but it might be worth seeing.

Nikita nods at Boyd's gesture towards the bottles... potions(?)... but whispers:

"Maybe, but Esther first, right?  She's got the Sagacitas in her.  We have to reach her soon."

Hoping it's not a trap, she continues slowly and stealthily through the door, hoping the others are coming with her, unless someone gives her a more definitive reason to stop.

Nikita Perception past door:  22 
Thumbtack Perception past door:  17 

Ermasnietsz's Arcana check on the ants:

Nikita - You move towards the heavy-door, using your mage hand to usher away any unwanted 'guests'.  You notice out of the corner of your eye that an alarmingly high amount of insects are congregating near Ermasnietsz 'flare'.  You stealthily, and quickly, move through the door ((continued in post below - map time!)).

Afternoon - Day #2 - Deeper into Prospect's Basement

Pushing through the tangles and vines, Nikita manages to manoeuvre her way through the door.  At this point, there is no room for doubt - the vast majority of this plant growth has occurred at an abnormally quick rate.  Past the door, the vines are thicker and the scents are more reminiscent of a forest, or woodland, in full bloom, rather than a damp, musty basement.  Eeking further forward, the party is confronted with a cramped hallway.  Mushroom spores cover the floor here in a multitude of colours and sizes.  ((Please can everyone that ventures into the hallway make Nature checks.))

The hallway continues to the west, where it proceeds to open out into a small room.  At the far side of the room sits a water basin, a tap slowly drips into it, unlike the rest of the room it appears largely untouched by the animal and plant life.  On either side of the Basin stand statues of women, their features appear to be either human or elven, the statues look identical save the material they are made from - the statue to the north appears to be made of a white stone or granite, whereas the southern statue appears to be made of a polished black stone.

Facing the basin, a painting is mounted on the wall.  It depicts rolling fields of wheat alongside a cobbled road.  A gentleman and small, red-headed girl traverse the road, hand in hand, they appear happy.  Lit, hanging braziers cast the room in a flickering light.  There is a loud rustling throughout the basement which almost obscures a quiet voice calling, desperately, from the north, "a-are you still there?  I think - I think I can hear you!"

A chill wind blows from the north, carrying mumbled whispers.

((As before, the partially cut-off red 'X' denotes a door, the hallway to the North continues but is currently out of eyesight.))

"Oh -- that's me and Sahmyr!  I remember now.  He would visit me - of course only I could see him.  We would joke and laugh and he would show me all manner of faraway lands.  It was like a living fairytale!  I think people thought I was imagining things... but I knew Sahmyr was real.  He gave me a gift."

Nikita Nature check:  15 

Nature:8

Faila's Nature check: 4 

Nature: 13

Boyd pulls his shirt over his nose upon seeing the mushrooms and their spores. "Uggh..." he says, in disgust. "I hate mushrooms."

He turns the corner and points out the painting of what is probably Asha and her father, when he hears the voice call out from the north.

"The voice is getting further away... either they're taking her somewhere or something is luring us with her voice. And that... does anyone hear mumbling from that direction? Not just one thing waiting for us that way..."

Nikita sounds both hesitant and determined.

"I... I think the mumbled whispers are Asha Hawkes, who is haunting this house from another plane, apparently.  But it's north we have to go, trap or not.  On the chance that it is Esther Freyn.  She was calling for Billy earlier.  Could be a trick or it could really be her.  Unless one of you knows for sure?"

Ermasnietsz

Ermasnietsz makes ticking noise using her tongue and the flare stick transforms into a pocket watch with glowing dial (Prestidigitation). She swings the illusory image in front of the ants using the magical chain, pretending to mimic the action of mentalists who can hypnotize unsuspecting pawns. Then she dismisses the illusion to create another glowing image nearby to see if the ants follow it.

"We're dangerously moving closer to a portal or planar rift, and I suspect that we might be subjected to peculiar transformation. I wonder if Esther somehow managed to shift to another plane of existence. It will be much difficult to retrieve her then."

Narture Checks

Meresaa & Faila's Nature checks:

Boyd's Nature check:

Nikita's Nature check:

Ermasnietsz - Lo and behold, the ants follow your newly created light source; swarming over the flare.

Nikita shudders and says in a low voice:  "You're right to hate the mushrooms, Boyd.  They are moving slightly towards us, as if sentient.  They probably let out poison spores.  So no lingering here.  We should move quickly to the north to try to rescue Esther, if it is really her.  And you're right, Ermasnietsz, it probably won't be easy due to the planar rift and Ehlenestra knows what other reason, but we have to try.  She is a child, likely infected with Sagacitas."

She begins moving to the north as quickly as she can while being careful to avoid plants and mushrooms to the greatest extent possible.

Meresaa removes a couple tiny objects from an interior pocket of her robe along with a long, slender tool of some sort. She appears to fiddle with them for a moment before tossing what looks like a pair of roughly half-inch wooden cubes to the far side of the room. They clatter against the wall and fall to the floor as one lights up and the other emits the sound of several shuffling and stomping booted feet (magical tinkering).

"With any luck that will at least confuse the buggers long enough that we should be able to get by without too many problems," she muses to Boyd. "She we?"

She follows Nikita to the north.

Faila, although at first wide-eyed and amazed at the huge insects, mushrooms, and plants, swallows her nervousness and picks up her feet quietly, making great effort not to touch any odd creature. She says sadly, "Let's go find Esther." The poor afflicted girl reminds her in a way of herself. She follows Meresaa after Nikita into the north passageway.

Boyd sighs and taps the handle of his long knife. He sighs, "No way back, now. S'pose we got to keep moving forward." He follows the group north and keeps his eyes peeled for traps, because this is almost certainly a trap. "You keep your eyes out for, ummn, magic traps. I'll watch for the ones what I can see." He says to no one in particular, assuming a lot about his magic-slinging companions.

Afternoon - Day #2 - Overgrown Hallway

Ensuring to avoid the red-topped mushrooms, the party makes its way northwards.  Between Meresaa's lit cubes and Ermasnietsz's flares, not only do an array of colours dance around the dingy basement, the insects seem more attracted to the light than any living creature.  To the north, is a hallway with a large set of double doors at the west end.  The hallway is covered in thick ivy and plant growth, thick thistly vines cling to the walls, and there is the smell of damp.  Fewer insects inhabit this place.

A shriek pierces the silence.  "Is... is... that you?" Esther's voice quivers.  She screams again, it sounds close.  "I see dark shadows in the corner!  Please tell me that is you!"  There is the sound of scuffling in the room ahead.  Followed by silence.

Boyd - Please make an Investigation check.

All - Please make an Perception checks.

Perception: 20

"We're here, child. Where are you?" Meresaa responds to the apparently empty room.

Nikita Perception:  21 
Thumbtack Perception:  21 

Ermasnietsz

Ermasnietsz loses interest in the movement of the extra-planar ants since she realizes the fact that it's unwise to get distracted by such kind of thing while working overtime. Besides, she will get the chance to come across a planar portal within a few moments. If she wishes to step through it and leave at once, nobody can stop her. Afterall, I do not have to face Lady Isolde to answer for the loss of Toska, or try to fix Claude's body. He's such a handsome man, but unfortunate. Moreover, there's nothing to lose, no responsibility.

She snaps out of her daydream when she hears a scream that most probably belongs to a child. Or is it Sedgwick trying to deceive the party through amateur tricks?

Perception 11