As long as the questions are still being asked, Boff speaks what's on his mind. Ever practical, the next question is the simplest and most logical one:
What's down there?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
"What the house takes, it keeps. You must find it ... before it finds you." The words came unbidden back to his mind. A shiver, cold as death's own touch, ran down his spine. He wondered briefly if that ment there was no escape for the trapped spirits. He wondered, not briefly, if there was no escape for the living... His moment of empathy passed quickly, survival again became his prime concern.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
If the lowest part is the most dangerous, but also where we need to go, it helps to know the layout.
"How many levels are here?",
Alaric almost asked about floors but realised that there is a chance there is a level that isn't a floor, such as if the basement extends to a cave system. He then realises that alone that question doesn't really help with going lower. So after the answer is given he asks a follow up question.
The spirit board shuddered once more beneath the heroes’ hands, the planchette darting from letter to letter. The air had grown icy, breath steaming in the candlelight. Rats had barely finished asking if they were trapped when the answer spelled itself out.
Y-E-S
The board continued, answering Alaric's question ('How many levels are there?') with a slow, deliberate response.
T-W-O—A-B-O-V-E—A-N-D—T-W-O—B-E-L-O-W
Then came Boff’s question ('What is down there?'), and the board reacted sharply, nearly leaping beneath their fingers as the letters formed.
S-T-U-F-F—OF—N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E-S
But it was Gooterat’s twin questions that seemed to rattle the very bones of the house. ("Who trapped you here?" & “How can you be set free?”) The planchette trembled, sliding to the first letters.
M-A-R-A
Then, in answer to the second question, the planchette started methodically spelling out the same answer again and again.
It didn’t stop. The planchette began to increase in speed
"Stop it! Stop!!" Laurie shouted, although it wasn't clear if she were shouting at the ghost or the folks with their hands on the spirit board's planchette.
As if in response, every candle in the parlor snuffed out at once. The fire in the hearth went out with a dramatic flourish and darkness swallowed the room. A low groan, like distant stone grinding against stone, echoed through the walls. Then silence.
In the dark, Gennifer’s voice was calm, but firm. "The spirit has withdrawn."
Gooterat stuttered out a mumble of arcane related sounds and snapped his fingers. The nearest candle sparked instantaneously and battled the all consuming darkness with a soft, faint glow. Gooterats eyes were so wide it looked as if he were wearing oversized novelty spectacles. He said nothing else, but peered left and right into the darkness. He was obviously quite shaken by the proceedings.
***OoC: action cast prestidigitation to light a candle***
"Brick by brick? I don't know about anyone else but to me it sounds like this place needs to be dismantled in its entirety. If going down is where the danger lies, does anyone else feel more comfortable going up first? Get as many answers as we can before facing the danger?"
"M-m-m-a-a-a-r-r-a?" the gnome stuttered. "L-l-l-i-k-e Mara Silvra, the lady you mentioned before?" It didn't look like reaching that conclusion helped to settle his nerves. His eyes darted around like he was watching hasted Will-o'-Wisps play tag.
"M-m-m-a-a-a-r-r-a?" the gnome stuttered. "L-l-l-i-k-e Mara Silvra, the lady you mentioned before?"
Gennifer looked up. "Yes," She said.
"The very same. I believe the spirit meant Mara Silvra, the noblewoman who once owned the castle whose ruins this house was built upon."
As the heroes got up and prepared to resume their explorations, Cassian kept his seat, staring blankly at the now-dark spirit board. Unmoving. Catatonic. His eyes were wide and unfocused, his lips parted as if mid-prayer, though no sound came. When Shinrei touched his shoulder and spoke his name, the paladin did not react.
"He’s breathing." The bard said grimly. "But he’s ... he's gone inside himself."
Alaric frowns. "That's a shame. We would have benefited from the help. But I am glad he went inside himself, and it wasn't a malevolent spirit going inside of him. Is he likely to recover from this? Not that we can tell his family. If he has any... We know nothing about each other."
He looks around. "There's no point dwelling on what we can't change. Let's continue our searching. I propose we finish this floor before going up. At least make sure we have a good defencable base room. So shall we check out the last room from here?" and he goes to the western parlor door ready to open if he gets approval.
Gooterat remains seated for a few moments, reflecting on the strange events that led the group here together. Before he rose to follow Alaric he began to chant and trace the protective ward that afforded him some measure of defense. Something was different this time, he sensed more. Tracing the ward one time more than normal he drew from the innate magic to cover his form in arcane armor. "More," he growled softly as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. Fueled by fear, he infused the magic with time, doubling its duration. This was much more taxing than his blade ward, but he realized immediately that he didn't need to focus to keep this protection going.
He stood shakily to his feet, a big grin on his face. He learned something new today, and his power grew. He walked just a little bit taller as he followed Aleric to the door.
***OoC: action: cast mage armor / 1 sorcery point to extend spell (16 hours now)***
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
"Why go inside yourself when we need to go outside this house? We must press onward. These walls are troublesome. Brick by brick, I am troubled and long for fresh air. For dirt. Too many misdirections and lies inside walls. Outside is clear."
"Spooky man. Shinrei. Will you watch Cassian? When he comes outside himself, come find us?" Rats says to Shinrei.
"In the meantime, I will press on. I will press up so we can then press down. Me and the other little folk are brave of heart." He says gesturing to Gootrat and Boff. "So is this taller one," nodding to Alaric.
"We will see Gennifer. We will leave. You will leave. We will dismantle brick by brick."
Rats will head along with Alaric, ready to leave the parlor and head upstairs
Boff stands up with a shiver, although the cold that has crept into his limbs has little to do with the air. He brushes his gloved hands together, then checks the grip on his axe again — more for comfort than need.
With a glance toward Alaric at the door, he grunts: Let’s go on wi’ it.
But then he leans slightly toward Gooterat, his voice softening as he murmurs something in Gnomish — still rough-edged, but with an awkward kind of reassurance. No need to fear, gnome. It be only a house. It can’t hurt you… not if we hit it first.
He nods toward the unopened western door, eyes wary. Despite the bravado, his stance is coiled tight — like a man braced for a punch.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Taken a bit aback at hearing the dwarf speak in gnomeish, Gooterat looks pleasantly surprised. "Plenty of reasons to fear this place, Boff," he replied in gnomeish. Then switching back to common, "We don't face it alone. Everybody stick together, no wandering around alone, and trust me to follow my own advice! I say we clear the entry-level here before going up, especially if some will remain here with the sisters."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
The heroes continued their exploration. A long, thin hallway with five* separate doors.
*Well, fivedoors to new locations anyway. There are seven doors in the hallway, one leads back to the foyer, and the one you are standing in leads back to the parlor.
***OoC: shall we start to the South and work up and around?***
"I can use my helping hand to open the door," the little Gnome offers. He is clutching a small, pale purple crystal in his left hand. Only a short while ago that hand would have been shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Now it only twitched like a leaf in a regular storm. Gooterat could feel the first twinge of a new feeling, something he had never experienced before. He couldn't possibly know that it was confidence, that it would grow with his budding arcane power. He only knew that he was afraid, not terrified like before. Baby steps were still steps, and the twitchy little forest gnome would keep stepping forward with party.
***OoC: he will cast mage hand to open the door the party agrees on.***
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
Boff moves into the hallway, his head on a swivel, eyes peering into dark corners, as he hefts his axe from one hand to the other. The doors to the south are the closest, and the dwarf takes position in the corner between them, making silent hand signals according to some cryptic soldier code...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
The door creaked open with a spectral nudge from Gooterat’s spectral hand, revealing a gallery beyond.
The Halvhrest family's art collection lined the walls of this space. Moody landscapes of storm-raked cliffs and distant, flickering lighthouses. Busts of forgotten ancestors sat on cracked marble pedestals, their features severe and weather-worn.
To the east, an alcove. Within, half-shrouded in shadow, an imposing statue carved of onyx. It depicted a muscular human figure locked in combat with a nest of writhing, disembodied tentacles coiled about the figure's limbs and throat. The sculptor had exquisitely captured the desperation in the strained look upon the man's face. It was beautiful and unsettling in equal measure.
But it was the western wall that held the room's strangest feature. Unlike the rest of the manor house, constructed mostly of plaster and lath and wood ... this wall was stone. This was the place where the more-recently-built manor house had been grafted directly onto the sole surviving tower of Castle Laventz.
An archway opened into the tower, yawning wide. Although the light from the hallway seemed to struggle to reach inside. If the heroes didn't know better, it was as if light itself refused to enter this space.
Light sources — ??? <-- Please let me know what light sources, if any, you intend to use. Otherwise the gallery area will be dimly lit and tower area will be an area of darkness. Active spells — Alaric (Mage Armor); Gooterat (Mage Armor, Mage Hand)
As long as the questions are still being asked, Boff speaks what's on his mind. Ever practical, the next question is the simplest and most logical one:
What's down there?
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Gooterat
"What the house takes, it keeps. You must find it ... before it finds you." The words came unbidden back to his mind. A shiver, cold as death's own touch, ran down his spine. He wondered briefly if that ment there was no escape for the trapped spirits. He wondered, not briefly, if there was no escape for the living... His moment of empathy passed quickly, survival again became his prime concern.
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
If the lowest part is the most dangerous, but also where we need to go, it helps to know the layout.
"How many levels are here?",
Alaric almost asked about floors but realised that there is a chance there is a level that isn't a floor, such as if the basement extends to a cave system. He then realises that alone that question doesn't really help with going lower. So after the answer is given he asks a follow up question.
"How many of those levels are below us?"
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
The spirit board shuddered once more beneath the heroes’ hands, the planchette darting from letter to letter. The air had grown icy, breath steaming in the candlelight. Rats had barely finished asking if they were trapped when the answer spelled itself out.
Y-E-S
The board continued, answering Alaric's question ('How many levels are there?') with a slow, deliberate response.
T-W-O—A-B-O-V-E—A-N-D—T-W-O—B-E-L-O-W
Then came Boff’s question ('What is down there?'), and the board reacted sharply, nearly leaping beneath their fingers as the letters formed.
S-T-U-F-F—OF—N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E-S
But it was Gooterat’s twin questions that seemed to rattle the very bones of the house. ("Who trapped you here?" & “How can you be set free?”) The planchette trembled, sliding to the first letters.
M-A-R-A
Then, in answer to the second question, the planchette started methodically spelling out the same answer again and again.
B-R-I-C-K-B-Y-B-R-I-C-K-B-Y-B-R-I-C-K-B-Y-BRICKBYBRICKBYBRICKBYBRICK…
It didn’t stop. The planchette began to increase in speed
"Stop it! Stop!!" Laurie shouted, although it wasn't clear if she were shouting at the ghost or the folks with their hands on the spirit board's planchette.
As if in response, every candle in the parlor snuffed out at once. The fire in the hearth went out with a dramatic flourish and darkness swallowed the room. A low groan, like distant stone grinding against stone, echoed through the walls. Then silence.
In the dark, Gennifer’s voice was calm, but firm. "The spirit has withdrawn."
Gooterat
Gooterat stuttered out a mumble of arcane related sounds and snapped his fingers. The nearest candle sparked instantaneously and battled the all consuming darkness with a soft, faint glow. Gooterats eyes were so wide it looked as if he were wearing oversized novelty spectacles. He said nothing else, but peered left and right into the darkness. He was obviously quite shaken by the proceedings.
***OoC: action cast prestidigitation to light a candle***
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
"Brick by brick? I don't know about anyone else but to me it sounds like this place needs to be dismantled in its entirety. If going down is where the danger lies, does anyone else feel more comfortable going up first? Get as many answers as we can before facing the danger?"
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
Boff stands up and quietly walks over to the nearest wall. He removes one glove and runs his bare hand over the wall, like a stable boy to a horse.
Brick by brick.
He then turns back to the group and growls: Aye, upstairs first.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Gooterat
"M-m-m-a-a-a-r-r-a?" the gnome stuttered. "L-l-l-i-k-e Mara Silvra, the lady you mentioned before?" It didn't look like reaching that conclusion helped to settle his nerves. His eyes darted around like he was watching hasted Will-o'-Wisps play tag.
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
Gennifer looked up. "Yes," She said.
"The very same. I believe the spirit meant Mara Silvra, the noblewoman who once owned the castle whose ruins this house was built upon."
As the heroes got up and prepared to resume their explorations, Cassian kept his seat, staring blankly at the now-dark spirit board. Unmoving. Catatonic. His eyes were wide and unfocused, his lips parted as if mid-prayer, though no sound came. When Shinrei touched his shoulder and spoke his name, the paladin did not react.
"He’s breathing." The bard said grimly. "But he’s ... he's gone inside himself."
Unexplored areas.
Alaric frowns. "That's a shame. We would have benefited from the help. But I am glad he went inside himself, and it wasn't a malevolent spirit going inside of him. Is he likely to recover from this? Not that we can tell his family. If he has any... We know nothing about each other."
He looks around. "There's no point dwelling on what we can't change. Let's continue our searching. I propose we finish this floor before going up. At least make sure we have a good defencable base room. So shall we check out the last room from here?" and he goes to the western parlor door ready to open if he gets approval.
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
Gooterat
Gooterat remains seated for a few moments, reflecting on the strange events that led the group here together. Before he rose to follow Alaric he began to chant and trace the protective ward that afforded him some measure of defense. Something was different this time, he sensed more. Tracing the ward one time more than normal he drew from the innate magic to cover his form in arcane armor. "More," he growled softly as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. Fueled by fear, he infused the magic with time, doubling its duration. This was much more taxing than his blade ward, but he realized immediately that he didn't need to focus to keep this protection going.
He stood shakily to his feet, a big grin on his face. He learned something new today, and his power grew. He walked just a little bit taller as he followed Aleric to the door.
***OoC: action: cast mage armor / 1 sorcery point to extend spell (16 hours now)***
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
"Why go inside yourself when we need to go outside this house? We must press onward. These walls are troublesome. Brick by brick, I am troubled and long for fresh air. For dirt. Too many misdirections and lies inside walls. Outside is clear."
"Spooky man. Shinrei. Will you watch Cassian? When he comes outside himself, come find us?" Rats says to Shinrei.
"In the meantime, I will press on. I will press up so we can then press down. Me and the other little folk are brave of heart." He says gesturing to Gootrat and Boff.
"So is this taller one," nodding to Alaric.
"We will see Gennifer. We will leave. You will leave. We will dismantle brick by brick."
Rats will head along with Alaric, ready to leave the parlor and head upstairs
Boff stands up with a shiver, although the cold that has crept into his limbs has little to do with the air. He brushes his gloved hands together, then checks the grip on his axe again — more for comfort than need.
With a glance toward Alaric at the door, he grunts: Let’s go on wi’ it.
But then he leans slightly toward Gooterat, his voice softening as he murmurs something in Gnomish — still rough-edged, but with an awkward kind of reassurance.
No need to fear, gnome. It be only a house. It can’t hurt you… not if we hit it first.
He nods toward the unopened western door, eyes wary. Despite the bravado, his stance is coiled tight — like a man braced for a punch.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Gooterat
Taken a bit aback at hearing the dwarf speak in gnomeish, Gooterat looks pleasantly surprised. "Plenty of reasons to fear this place, Boff," he replied in gnomeish. Then switching back to common, "We don't face it alone. Everybody stick together, no wandering around alone, and trust me to follow my own advice! I say we clear the entry-level here before going up, especially if some will remain here with the sisters."
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
The heroes continued their exploration. A long, thin hallway with five* separate doors.
*Well, five doors to new locations anyway. There are seven doors in the hallway, one leads back to the foyer, and the one you are standing in leads back to the parlor.
***OoC: shall we start to the South and work up and around?***
"I can use my helping hand to open the door," the little Gnome offers. He is clutching a small, pale purple crystal in his left hand. Only a short while ago that hand would have been shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Now it only twitched like a leaf in a regular storm. Gooterat could feel the first twinge of a new feeling, something he had never experienced before. He couldn't possibly know that it was confidence, that it would grow with his budding arcane power. He only knew that he was afraid, not terrified like before. Baby steps were still steps, and the twitchy little forest gnome would keep stepping forward with party.
***OoC: he will cast mage hand to open the door the party agrees on.***
“Let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall.” — Elrond
***OoC: sounds good***
Boff moves into the hallway, his head on a swivel, eyes peering into dark corners, as he hefts his axe from one hand to the other. The doors to the south are the closest, and the dwarf takes position in the corner between them, making silent hand signals according to some cryptic soldier code...
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
The door creaked open with a spectral nudge from Gooterat’s spectral hand, revealing a gallery beyond.
The Halvhrest family's art collection lined the walls of this space. Moody landscapes of storm-raked cliffs and distant, flickering lighthouses. Busts of forgotten ancestors sat on cracked marble pedestals, their features severe and weather-worn.
To the east, an alcove. Within, half-shrouded in shadow, an imposing statue carved of onyx. It depicted a muscular human figure locked in combat with a nest of writhing, disembodied tentacles coiled about the figure's limbs and throat. The sculptor had exquisitely captured the desperation in the strained look upon the man's face. It was beautiful and unsettling in equal measure.
But it was the western wall that held the room's strangest feature. Unlike the rest of the manor house, constructed mostly of plaster and lath and wood ... this wall was stone. This was the place where the more-recently-built manor house had been grafted directly onto the sole surviving tower of Castle Laventz.
An archway opened into the tower, yawning wide. Although the light from the hallway seemed to struggle to reach inside. If the heroes didn't know better, it was as if light itself refused to enter this space.
Light sources — ??? <-- Please let me know what light sources, if any, you intend to use. Otherwise the gallery area will be dimly lit and tower area will be an area of darkness.
Active spells — Alaric (Mage Armor); Gooterat (Mage Armor, Mage Hand)