Orel gets a brief glimpse at the gallery on the other side of the door, but is forced to dodge out of the way as a bronze statue of a horse and rider comes hurling through the doorway. There's a distinctly unfriendly presence here, hissing and blowing a frigid breeze out onto the landing...

(META: 6 composite to hit from unseen assailant, triggers initiative...)

Stone sweeps into the room behind the flying statue, weapons drawn for assailants at hand and across the room. For a moment, the monk could have been like one of the house's many lifelike paintings or statuary. A few heartbeats later, a small knife, no larger than a hawk feather but similarly shaped, is sent across the room and plants into the far wall above a table of curious odddities.

"There! Strike now before the servant of Death attacks again."

(Perception roll: 15)

Elaine immediately found herself in combat mode, the danger causing her heart to race. She dropped a spell, one of her old favorites, with a handful of notes on her viol, but it did not have the desired affect. The sparkles fell to the ground, not clinging to whatever had thrown the statue at them at all. The bard only had one other thing she could do. She turned to their thief and began to sing.

"If there's something strange in the old House Crain,
Who you gonna call? (Reycaryn!)
If there's some weird ghost
That is causing pain
Who you gonna call? (Reycaryn!)"

(OOC: The ghosty succeeded its dex save against the faerie fire, and Rey now has a d6 of inspiration.)

With the screech and hiss of pain from the shadows, Marius knew exactly where to aim. He holds his hands open, palm facing palm, and arcane force begins to arc between them! 

"Bet Corp Por!" he cries out, flinging the crackling force towards the corner, where it coruscates momentarily around the evil entity. The warlock moves into the doorway and puts his back against the open door, preventing it from closing on any of his allies.

Orel follows the small elf into the room and tries to angle a swing with his maul at the same spot she did. The maul flies through the air and completely misses whatever ethereal creature this was. He tries to track the thing's movement, but it was nearly impossible to keep it in his sights!

(Attack with disadvantage - Miss)

The disembodied hissing intensifies, echoing through the room like an ethereal death rattle. A heavy brass urn flies from across the room to strike Rey in the side just before a terrible chill envelopes her. Did this haunt just move through her, toward the door? She thinks so...

(META: 19 to hit, 5 damage to Rey, creature moved somewhere toward the area of the door...)

Stone watches the scene play out with the others, trying to eliminate possible areas to attack. As Rey lets out a shudder and turns toward the door, Stone assumes the phantom must be retreating toward the door. He leaps and swings his dagger, following up with a sweeping kick, trying to hit as much area as possible. Sadly, his assault does nothing but disturb empty air.

(Attack rolls: 11 and 9)

Elaine could feel the almost familiar chill of a ghost, and it was trying to run. In a last ditch attempt to help her new friends at least see the beast, she dropped another Faerie Fire right on top of it. Again, the lightly colored sparkles fell to the ground harmlessly. 

"That was awesome, Rey! How did you know where it went?" Marius gushes, excited by their first real success as a group. He hurries over to look through the stuff on the table of curiosities, while Rey bestows a glorious name on her dagger. When he finds the silver dresser set, he calls out, "Found a few silvery pretties for you! Ooh.... what's this, then?" 

He carefully lifts a jar and holds it up in the light. Yellow liquid gently swirls around in the jar, ruffling the preserved fur of a (hopefully) dead rabbit. "Glad it didn't throw THIS at anybody! Elaine, look!" He points out the 47 mark on the creature, then ever-so-gently places the jar back on its table. 

A call from across the room draws his attention to a glass-doored cabinet full of specimens. He peruses each one, his keen gaze missing nothing. There's a liver... a kidney... a pair of very small lungs... oh delicious Night there's a head...

He spits on the hem of his cloak and rubs it on the jar so he can see the shrunken head more clearly. "Well there it is again... As Above, So Below..." A faint glimmer reflecting off the glass is the only sign that his eyes have taken on a purplish glow as he murmurs the words over and over, faster and faster. "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the wonders of the One that Is and Is Not and Was and Will Be." The racing words cease with an abrupt choking, hissing sound, and the warlock puts the jar back in the cabinet before turning to the rest of the group.

"Well, what else do you think ol' Crain kept up here, walking alone?"

Orel gives them time to scavenge the contents of the room. They deserved it this time. Once he's satisfied they grabbed everything they could find, he says, "Are wel ready for the next door? I can check to see which doors are occupied if you give me some time."

When Rey walks past him, he grabs her by the arm and says, "If you're in too much pain let me know. I can help numb the pain to keep you going." He saw how fast that urn hurled through the air and was right next to her when it hit her. It was the least he could do since the woman single-handily banished a spirit from this world. 

That blow nearly knocked her off her feet. It looked a lot more than a few bruised ribs. Orel nods, pulling his shield out and slinging his maul. He then unbuckles his flail and moves over to the next door in line. "Prepare yourselves," he says again. He places his shield against the door (next one on the left side), and attempts to open it. 

Curling around the landing and heading back toward the walkway overlooking the foyer, Orel approaches the left door nearest the front of the house. As he opens it, he notices this room is especially dark without even a hint of light from a window or otherwise. At first, it looks to him like the walls are painted black in a complex pattern of some sort, then, as his eyes adjust, the true nature of the scene grips him. 

All furniture was removed from this room at some point and a large symbol was painted on the floor in some strange kind of black tar. It looks rather like this:

The stumps of melted candles lie at each of the six points of the star and large, dark stains dot the floor. The walls are covered with spray and spatter patterns.

In the center of the design, a rusted old sickle with a deeply stained ivory handle...

Stone takes a few cautionary steps into the circle and waves for Orel to follow. He steps in, feels the weight of the world surrounding him, and deems it necessary to cast Protection from Evil and Good on Stone. His shield glows briefly as the symbol upon it, that of scarab's mandibles, blinks a dark unnatural black. When Orel's whispers cease, he steps back out of the room. He'd prefer to keep at the ready in case anything else occurred. "You should be safe to enter the circle, Stone," he says, confidant that the protection would hold.

Stone takes a deep, steadying breath after Orel's protection takes effect. As he proceeds through the circle, the monk begins to breath a mantra to steady his resolve, "Minion of Darkness, bend before my will. I am Stone, servant of unbreakable Earth and unrelenting Fire." Slowly, Stone reaches out and grabs the sickle, waiting for something to happen...

Marius muses, but only Stone perceives his thoughts.

Stone begins to reach for the sickle anyway, enticed by its allure, but stops just inches short. With a sigh and a nod, he withdraws to let Rey do her search.