Avaria will stay by the door, making sure their fortifying will hold, watching the stairs and whatever Ethel is up to.  

Marrin mutters about how filthy the place is as she brushes dust off herself.

The covered mirrors have no issue with Ethel getting closer. They don't jump at her or transform. They sit there, covered by clean cloths.

Marrin looks up the stairs, gets the sprinkling of dust in her face, and then sees the stairs curve around the edge of the tower. The curve prevents her from seeing anything of the floor above.

Avaria and Ula quickly find the iron bar that Soren had magically slipped out of place and put it back in, holding the door in place. Soren figures out the lock as well and relocks the door. Everyhting should hold for now - though Avaria did do some solid damage to the door before they entered. Just as everything is locked in place, something thuds against the door, shaking the lock and bar.

K dips and flits and heads up the stairway, following the curve of the tower and until they get to a closed door. Peeking through the keyhole they see a humanoid pacing back and forth in the room behind the door. The hole doesn't let them see much more than the torso of the person pacing.

"Door at the top of the stairs, K can see someone pacing back and forth, but can't get much details.", Jan whispers.

((How small of a spider can K shift into? There are some really small spiders out there... perhaps small enough to pass through a keyhole?))

Marrin looks up the stairs and nods, waiting for Jan's direction on what to do next.

((Yes a small spider could slip through the key hole, or easily under the door through the gap between the door and floor))

Jan holds up a cautioning hand, her senses with the invisible spider K as they slip to the other side of the door.

The small dust fairy shrinks even smaller, while staying invisible and slips into the second floor room.

K sees a gray haired older orc pacing in the room. He's well groomed, and holds a book in one hand. When K fully slips out from under the door, the orc stops his pacing and looks at the door for a moment. He waits for a moment or two then goes back to pacing. His steps becoming quicker, almost frantic.

Otherwise the room looks much like it did from the outside - a desk, bed, a few books.

Avaria watches Jan waiting for any signal to move ahead.  She also peaks through some of the cracks she made in the door to see what she can of the foes they have outside.

As the other's puzzle over the stairs and door, Ethel continues to ponder the mystery of these mirrors.  She steps closer to the mirrors, her bootheels clicking softly against the stone floor.  Her gaze sweeps over the cloth coverings, her head tilting slightly as if listening for a clue buried in the silence.   She studies them, her analytical mind whirring, though she keeps her thoughts to herself, for now.

Strange.  Someone like the Rotting Man, who would presumably despise his reflection, wouldn’t keep mirrors at all.  Why bring these into the heart of the forest, only to hide them?  They serve a purpose—something deliberate.  But what?

She moves to one side, her fingers brushing over the edge of a cloth. Her lips press into a thin line.

Why cover them, though?  Protection?  Secrecy?  Or is there something more dangerous about their surface than what might look back at you?

Her hand hovers for a moment, indecision flickering in her scarred features.  Then she exhales sharply.

Curiosity killed the cat... but satisfaction brought it back.

With slow deliberation, she grips a corner of the cloth, lifting it just enough to catch a glimpse of what lies beneath.  Her posture stiffens as her eyes narrow, ready to drop the cloth instantly if what she sees confirms her suspicions—or sparks her alarm.

Avaria can't see much through the door now, but moving one of the curtains, she can make out through one of the arrow slits that the animated trees are on either side of the staircase and look to be getting ready to pound on the door again. The gaseous zombies are extracting themselves from the webbing and following those that weren't caught up to the staircase, while the charmed ones, left to their own again are also making their way to the staircase.

-----------------------------

Ethel - d3 please

1

[Rolling a D6... so 1-2=1; 3-4=2; 5-6=3]

((Unless something shook them all out of it, those distracted zombies should stay distracted for 10 rounds.

That said, the trees are probably coming in before them.))

Marrin keeps her eyes up the stairs.

Lifting the edge of the cloth allows Ethel to catch a glimpse of her own image in the mirror. Suddenly she feels an incredible tug on her entire body as if something wants to pull her inside the mirror.

(Charisma Save - DC 15)

As for the zombies, Avaria can't make them all out or get a good count. Perhaps an animated tree knocked some sense into a couple of zombies. Or maybe there's someone else out and about who did so. Hard to tell from where you all are.

CHA save:  15

Ethel manages to resist the attractive pull of the mirror and lowers the cloth quickly again. Despite that feeling of an incessant pulling, she's safe and sound - as safe and sound as you can be in a broken down tower, with zombies and evil trees at the door and at least one powerful mirror with a cloth draped over it.

As Ethel’s fingers release the cloth and it drops back into place, her heart pounds in her chest, her breath ragged.  She staggers back, her weight leaning on her walking stick, her mind racing.  Her voice is a sharp whisper, more to herself than anyone else.  "Not just mirrors... traps.  Or portals, prisons... gods only know what they are.  But they’re dangerous."

Her gaze darts to the door, where the faint sounds of thudding and cracking can be heard as the undead press against the tower's defenses.  Her jaw tightens as a plan begins to take shape.

She spins toward the rest of the room, scanning for the nearest ally.  Seeing Avaria near the door, she waves her over urgently.  "Avaria! Over here—quickly!"

As Avaria approaches - assuming Avaria approaches -, Ethel’s voice lowers but stays firm.  "Listen carefully.  These mirrors aren’t what they seem.  There’s something in them—something that tried to drag me inside.  It’s dangerous, yes... but we can use it.  We’re outnumbered out there, and we need every edge we can get."

"Help me shift this one to the door, but for the love of all that’s sane, don’t lift the cloth.  Don’t expose the surface.  Just grip the frame and follow my lead."

Ethel moves to one side of the mirror, planting her hands firmly on the edges of the frame, careful not to disturb the covering.  

"We’ll set it facing out.  If those walking corpses get through the door, let’s see if this... curse... works on them the same way it tried to work on me.  Better them than us."

She glances at Avaria, waiting to see if she is in agreement.

"I'm not sure that's him... Older, fancy orc, but he's just pacing back and forth. If it were the Rotting Man, surely he'd have heard us and be moving to defend his tower?"

It takes a bit for Ethel's plan to sink in, but as it does a grin breaks across the shifters face.  "You always were the smart one.  Yes, I will gladly help.  Do you think one of these mirrors is enough?"

Ava takes her time and makes sure she has the cloth pinned against the mirror as she grabs a side and helps Ethel move it towards the door.

Avaria lifts the mirror easily and positions it facing the doorway. The cloth billows a little as she takes her hands away and she touches the mirror surface itself. But other than feeling the cold glass, she doesn't feel anything special about the mirror. For a brief moment she feels like she'd like to take a quick peek to see what Ethel was talking about but that impulse passes.

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Any other actions from the rest of the team before team Tree Zombie gets another whack at the door?