Towards the end of the rest, perhaps due to the influence of the magical environment, Khessa at a certain point has a vision:
Rethos, his brother, wearing the characteristic armor of the Blue Knight, advances with determination towards the party... but is struck directly by a bolt of lightning thrown by Coriana!
Khessa's blue eyes widen in shock as she sees Coriana mercilessly attack Rethos with one of her most devastating spells! "Coriana!" a mix of an anguished cry and a furious growl erupts from her lips. "What the heck were you thinking!? My brother is just a boy!"
The rest of the scene momentarily loses relevance as the boy collapses to the ground. The blonde arcane warrior immediately rushes to check on her brother. Yes, he's alive. An indescribable relief calms her storm of emotions, but more must be done—he must be kept alive. The battle can wait. She takes the Blue Knight in her arms and carries him aside, out of the fray, heedless of any blows that may reach her as she carries him to safety. She can take a beating. She will heal. And she wants him to live and heal too.
The tall adventuress then gently sets him on the ground and, taking her Healer's Kit from her backpack, proceeds to heal his lightning burns. When he no longer appears to be in mortal danger, she kisses him gently on the forehead, as she would have done long ago when wishing him goodnight, and murmurs: "Rest easy. Khessa will take you out of trouble as usual. Ill be back in no time".
"Yes, in no time..." the blonde arcane warrior is still muttering when the vision finally fades. For a moment, she stares intently at Coriana, as reality takes over again... then she shakes her head, as if that will help chase away the last remnants of the vision, and she forces a smile at everyone: "This place is definitely... peculiar."
Despite the unpleasant final upset, rest has worked wonders on Khessa, and she, with her mind and body perfectly restored, tries to examine the bottom room more closely, the one with the southern wall dominated by carved bookshelves that stretch from floor to ceiling! If there are still writings on some of the bookshelves, she is very curious to read them (even just a few excerpts to get an idea, if there are books or very long texts—just to at least understand the theme, let's say).
Feeling better after resting a bit Theldrin eventually emerges from his revery pondering the implications of living spells, and decides to take a quick but cautious look around the area. He's concerned there might be traps so he doesn't get too aggressive with his search, but mentally makes notes to come back for anything that looks enticing.
Investigation: 723
(OOC: are there books and scrolls or just shelves/racks where they seem to have been in the past?).
The rest helps Xanrym to recover from the poisonous cloud, and talking with the others seems to lift the dark gloom of this place for a while. He thanks Syllen for the blessing. (OOC: Xanrym spends 3 HD to return to max HP: 5 + 4 + 9, rolled on the character sheet / game log)
After their rest, Xanrym starts with a ritual casting of Comprehend Languages. Like Khessa, he would like to spend some time investigating the scrolls and books in the smaller room (S16) and some of the books in the larger room (S17). The spell helps him to read anything written in a language that he doesn't know. He scans the titles or opens books to read a page or two. Like Khessa, he's trying to get a sense of the collection in case they need to return here for information. Perhaps there's some specific information that might help them understand what lead to the Plagueburst, the Ash Doom plague, or even just hints about what else they might find in the Necromancer's Spike. Investigation: 13
But Xanrym realizes that going through the entire of books collection could take all day, and The Company is still focused on finding Fadheela. Xanrym moves on to searching the rooms for anything that could be immediately useful, such as a key or map. He also looks for any valuables, such as rings, art, and even books about rare topics, like the drow and their magic, aboleths, or illithids. Rare books about esoteric topics could be valuable additions to his personal library back at Grey Gardens (their bastion). Since they've already seen secret doors in this place, Xanrym takes a moment to check the furniture (especially the desks) for secret compartments, false bottoms, or hidden draws. Perception: 21
Since The Company took a rest immediately after the fight, he also suggests that part of The Company explore the Hall of Audience (S15) to see whether there's anything useful or valuable there. Once they're done searching these 3 rooms, The Company will need to decide where to go next.
Towards the end of the rest, perhaps due to the influence of the magical environment, Khessa at a certain point has a vision:
Rethos, his brother, wearing the characteristic armor of the Blue Knight, advances with determination towards the party... but is struck directly by a bolt of lightning thrown by Coriana!
Khessa's blue eyes widen in shock as she sees Coriana mercilessly attack Rethos with one of her most devastating spells! "Coriana!" a mix of an anguished cry and a furious growl erupts from her lips. "What the heck were you thinking!? My brother is just a boy!"
The rest of the scene momentarily loses relevance as the boy collapses to the ground. The blonde arcane warrior immediately rushes to check on her brother. Yes, he's alive. An indescribable relief calms her storm of emotions, but more must be done—he must be kept alive. The battle can wait. She takes the Blue Knight in her arms and carries him aside, out of the fray, heedless of any blows that may reach her as she carries him to safety. She can take a beating. She will heal. And she wants him to live and heal too.
The tall adventuress then gently sets him on the ground and, taking her Healer's Kit from her backpack, proceeds to heal his lightning burns. When he no longer appears to be in mortal danger, she kisses him gently on the forehead, as she would have done long ago when wishing him goodnight, and murmurs: "Rest easy. Khessa will take you out of trouble as usual. Ill be back in no time".
"Yes, in no time..." the blonde arcane warrior is still muttering when the vision finally fades. For a moment, she stares intently at Coriana, as reality takes over again... then she shakes her head, as if that will help chase away the last remnants of the vision, and she forces a smile at everyone: "This place is definitely... peculiar."
Khessa uses her Arcane Recovery feature to get her 2nd level slot back, then she starts using HDs to recover HPs
Fighter HD: 10
Fighter HD: 11
Wizard HD: 8
[[ OOC: Great! Khessa is back at full HP ]]
Despite the unpleasant final upset, rest has worked wonders on Khessa, and she, with her mind and body perfectly restored, tries to examine the bottom room more closely, the one with the southern wall dominated by carved bookshelves that stretch from floor to ceiling! If there are still writings on some of the bookshelves, she is very curious to read them (even just a few excerpts to get an idea, if there are books or very long texts—just to at least understand the theme, let's say).
(OOC: At the end of the short rest Syllen speaks a few word of encouragement. Everyone gets 10 Temp HP)
(OOC: Theldrin will use Arcane Recovery to regain a 3rd level slot)
Feeling better after resting a bit Theldrin eventually emerges from his revery pondering the implications of living spells, and decides to take a quick but cautious look around the area. He's concerned there might be traps so he doesn't get too aggressive with his search, but mentally makes notes to come back for anything that looks enticing.
Investigation: 723
(OOC: are there books and scrolls or just shelves/racks where they seem to have been in the past?).
(OOC: ignore the 7 there, 23 for the roll)
The rest helps Xanrym to recover from the poisonous cloud, and talking with the others seems to lift the dark gloom of this place for a while. He thanks Syllen for the blessing.
(OOC: Xanrym spends 3 HD to return to max HP: 5 + 4 + 9, rolled on the character sheet / game log)
After their rest, Xanrym starts with a ritual casting of Comprehend Languages. Like Khessa, he would like to spend some time investigating the scrolls and books in the smaller room (S16) and some of the books in the larger room (S17). The spell helps him to read anything written in a language that he doesn't know. He scans the titles or opens books to read a page or two. Like Khessa, he's trying to get a sense of the collection in case they need to return here for information. Perhaps there's some specific information that might help them understand what lead to the Plagueburst, the Ash Doom plague, or even just hints about what else they might find in the Necromancer's Spike.
Investigation: 13
But Xanrym realizes that going through the entire of books collection could take all day, and The Company is still focused on finding Fadheela. Xanrym moves on to searching the rooms for anything that could be immediately useful, such as a key or map. He also looks for any valuables, such as rings, art, and even books about rare topics, like the drow and their magic, aboleths, or illithids. Rare books about esoteric topics could be valuable additions to his personal library back at Grey Gardens (their bastion). Since they've already seen secret doors in this place, Xanrym takes a moment to check the furniture (especially the desks) for secret compartments, false bottoms, or hidden draws.
Perception: 21
Since The Company took a rest immediately after the fight, he also suggests that part of The Company explore the Hall of Audience (S15) to see whether there's anything useful or valuable there. Once they're done searching these 3 rooms, The Company will need to decide where to go next.
Avery nods, "I'll go with whoever wants to take a look."