Artus now face to face with the armor will swing his great axe.

Attack: 8 Damage: 11

Reggie(20/20), Lando(17/17), Andrei(15/22), Artus(14/23), Animated Armor (36), Tilo(3/17)

"Yeah, right," Tilo says sarcastically after Andrei and the others disappear up the stairway. Despite Andrei's advice, Tilo stumbles up the stairs after his party, leaning on the wall for support. He stops next to Lando, within sight of the others, and sets gets in a defensive stance hoping to avoid getting hit by the Animated Armor. 

"No!" Reggie yells as Andrei and Artus continue up the stairs. He follows after, tensing as Artus has to parry two blows from the armor. Running up behind the armor himself, Reggie grunts as he slashes at the Armors shoulder trying to chop off the arm and hits the armor barely scratching it. (6 damage) He follows through with his other sword and connects once again in the other shoulder but the armor is heavy stuff and absorbs most of the blow. (8 damage)

 Lando begins casting a spell he knows very well. In his open hand, a blue radiant flame begins to grow. Then suddenly the flame is gone, and a much larger column of blue flame descends upon the Animated Armor but this time the  Armor gets engulfed in flames for a second. (6 damage)

Andrei growls in annoyance, swinging his icy ax at the helmet of the animated armor connecting solidly and making the helmet turn to ice before it falls off onto the ground. (16 damage)

Artus now face to face with the armor will swing his great axe and cleaves it in two killing it.

You are all on a dusty balcony at the top of the stairs, Oil lamps are mounted on the oak-paneled walls, which are carved with woodland scenes of trees, falling leaves, and tiny critters you also notice  tiny corpses hanging from the trees and worms bursting up from the ground, As Tilo rests for the moment he notices a door that isn't visible to the naked eye directly west of the top of the stairs. 

Andrei lowers his ice ax with a huff.

"We should stick together from now on," he says to the group.

"Tilo was in danger... before I knew it, he was downstairs and I was upstairs...." Artus is breathing heavy after charging the magical armor and swinging his axe. 

After Artus calms down, and breathing returns to normal, he looks out off the balcony on the view of the rest of the city.

Tilo sits down on the stairs resting against the wall. "I need to bandage these wounds. Let's rest for a little while. By the way, it looks like there's a hidden door there." He points up and across to the west wall. "Honestly though, I think we should get the abyss out of here as soon as I catch my breath. I don't hear a baby, we didn't hear any parents and there doesn't even seem to be a obvious route to the basement. The armor couldn't have been the monster the kids were talking about, it was just standing there like it was a part of the normal layout of the place. There's something wrong with this house and, maybe, something wrong with those kids we saw. Have you noticed the decorations?" Tilo gets more and more agitated as he speaks, clearly off balanced by his brush with death. He realizes this and becomes to calm himself, practicing breathing exercises.

"Alright, while you tend to your wounds, I'm going to check out the 2nd floor. If you hear me screaming... well it might be too late at that point." Lando grins and heads downstairs quietly.

Stealth  11

Once on the 2nd floor, Lando will go and check out the double doors to the north, straining to hear any sounds before entering.

Andrei shakes his head as Lando leaves, frowning.

"Vampires have too many tricks," he mutters.

"I hate tricks."

"You two stay here," Reggie says to Andrei and Tilo. "I don't like the idea of Lando searching by himself." He looks at Artus. "You coming?" Reggie turns and starts down the stairs to follow Lando, his swords still out.

Red velvet drapes cover the windows of this room. An exquisite mahogany desk and a matching high-back chair face the entrance and the fireplace, above which hangs a framed picture of a windmill perched atop a rocky crag. Situated in corners of the room are two overstuffed chairs. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves line the south wall. A rolling wooden ladder allows one to more easily reach the high shelves.

Reggie stands just inside the doors as Lando looks around. He sheathes one of his swords, removes his flask and takes a drink.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Lando makes his way to the bookshelf for a better look  

“You can tell a lot about someone by the books they keep”

The bookshelves hold hundreds of tomes covering a range of topics including history, warfare, and alchemy. There are also several shelves containing first-edition collected works of poetry and fiction.

As you are looking at the various books you see one book, a red covered book with a blank spine, that looks out of place. You notice it's a switch for a secret door behind the bookshelf. 

"Lando," Reggie says impatiently, but not rudely. "Is it really the time?"

Artus follows Reggie into the room with Lando. He will pick up one of the history books and thumb through the pages. He can make out a few words but has a hard time with most. After getting frustrated at the big words, he will huff and toss the book over his shoulder and begin to look at another one. He does this 2 more times before giving up and stomping over to Reggie in the door way.

“Your language is hard to read...”

Reggie looks up at the big minotaur. "I've never been much of a book person myself," he admits. He momentarily begins to smile, but as he opens his mouth to say more, a strange look comes into his eyes and he looks away. "Don't worry about it," he says with an emotional hitch in his voice. "If you ever want to get better at it, I can help you," he mutters, still not looking at Artus. He clears his throat and reaches into his pack to retrieve his flask again. After taking another swig, he picks up the books Artus had tossed on the floor and puts them back into the bookcase.

Lando hums to himself and casually flips the switch then steps back a couple feet. 

This secret room contains bookshelves packed with tomes describing fiend-summoning rituals and the necromantic rituals of a cult called the Priests of Osybus.

A heavy wooden chest with clawed iron feet stands against the south wall, its lid half-closed. Sticking out of the chest is a skeleton in leather armor.

 

Andrei stands by Tilo on the staircase, glancing around periodically. Eventually he looks over at him.

"You alright, boy?" Andrei asks gruffly, using the "nickname" that he calls Tilo more often than not.

Hearing the secret door swing open, it startles Artus and he readies his axe and starts huffing. After a second, he relaxes and chuckles

"Spooked me you did there haha"

"I'll be fine in a bit, Old Man, won't say that wasn't a close though." Tilo says with a grin. "You know, my "friend" might have helped if you'd teach me how to control it already. Plus, even without it, I'd be a lot stronger with my own crimson rite!" He pleads the case like a man that has done the same many times before.